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LONDON: HENRY COLBURN, NEW BURLINGTON STREET. 1828. .? 9 0 -i DEDICATION. TO JOHN CADWALLADER, OF CADWALLADER, IN THB STATIi OF NEW YORK, UNITED STATES OF AMEEICA. Without your aid and kindness these pages could never have been written. Whatever others may think of their merit, it is certain that you and I believe they contain some truths. We must therefore endeavour to keep each other in good humour, provided they shall hap- pen to be neglected rather more than our joint opinions may lead us to think they deserve. Shortly after my return to the queen of cities, there was a happy reunion of all the remaining members of the club. I know you will be glad to hear, that, with a solitary exception, this embraced VI DEDICATION. almost every man whose name has stood on the roll since its formation. But, alas ! there is one ex- ception. The poor Dane has fallen. The worthy professor was too long engaged in sedentary employments in a warm climate. I write it with grief, but he was married at Verona, about eleven o'clock on the morning of the 16th August last, to the daughter of an Italian physician. Jules B6- thizy and Waller were both at Florence when he was first taken, and they flew to his assistance with the earnestness of a long-tried friendship. But remedies wer«^ ^ late. From the first mo- ment the symptoms . cemed threatening ; and as the best advice was fortunately so close at hand., there is reason to think the malady was perfectly incurable. Bethizy has some suspicions of foul play, and makes dark allusions to philtres and amulets ; but the father of the fair infection so- lemnly protests that the whole is the effect of sun and solitude. We have done all that remained to sorrowing friends. An epithalamium has been written by the Russian, and it was set to solemn music by the Abate. A brass plate has been let into the back of the fauteuil of the derelict, con- taining an appropriate inscription, and two me- DEDICATION. Vll jnento mori are cut in its sides. A wedding ring has also been attached to the nose of the portrait, which, as I have often told you, is al- ways suspended over the chair of a member. The question of a successor has been deeply agitated among us. Nothing but the exceeding li- berality which pervades and colours our meetings could have ensured the result which has grown out of the election. Yes, my friend, the empty fauteuil is yours ; and, as I know you have des- troyed the coat of arms of your European ances- tors, 1 have caused a design of my own to be em- blazoned in the proper place. It is a constellation of twenty-four stars, surrounded by a cloud of nebula, with a liberty cap for a crest, and two young negroes as supporters. I was obliged to adopt this equivocal blazonry, in order to quiet all parties, for the election was not without a struggle. A great deal, was said about liberality, but 1 believe you know that liberality always sup- poses certain reservations. The Abate objected a good deal to the preponderance of the Protestant interest, and I thought Waller was a little jealous of having a member who might introduce a dialect of his mother tongue. But Jules B6thizy stood vin DEDICATION'. by you like a man, and the Russian swore you were his neighbour, and that in you should come. In short, the question was carried ; and now the agony is over, both the Baronet and the Priest put the best possible face on it. Come to us, then, dear John, as soon as you can tear yourself from the delights of home. We con- template a great and general movement during the next three years' recess, and an honourable station shall be assigned you in the task of peregrination. There is a good deal of distrust manifested by some unbelievers in our body concerning the matter detailed in my letters ; but n*importe, thirty years ago most of the worthy members did not know the colour of the skin of the people concerning whom I have written. They who live thirty years hence may live long enough to discover, that what now seems so marvellous will then be deemed quite a matter of course. — Adieu. I I I i PREFACE. The writer of these Letters is not without some of the yea nings of paternity in committing the offspring of his brain to the world. His chief concern is that the book may pass as near as possible for what it was intended in the design, however the execution may fall short of the plan. A close and detailed statistical work on the United States of America, could not keep its place as an authority for five years. What is true this year would the next become liable to so many explanations, that the curious would soon cease to consult its pages. The principles of the government, and the state of society, are certainly more permanent; but the latter varies rapidly in the different stages of a life tljat is so progressive. Nothing more has, therefore, been attempted here, than to give a hasty and general sketch of most things of interest, and to commu- nicate what is told in as unpretending and familiar X PKtIACK. a way as the subjects themselves would con- veniently allow. The facts of these volumes are believed to be, in general, correct. The Author does not claim to be exempt from error ; but as he has given some thought and a great deal of time to the subjects of which he has treated, he hopes that refutation will not easily attack him in the shape of evi- dence. His reasoning— if rapid, discursive, and ill-arranged arguments can aspire to so high a name — must, of course, depend on its own value. A great number will certainly condemn it, for it as certainly opposes the opinions of a vast num- ber of very honest people in Europe. Still, as he has no one object but the good of all his fellow- creatures in view, he hopes no unworthy motive will be ascribed to his publication. A great number of readers will be indisposed to believe that the United States of America are of the importance which the writer does not disguise he has attempted to shew that they are of to the rest of the world. On this subject there will, pro- bably, remain a diversity of opinion, that time only can decide. As it is probable that in this unfortunate dispute there will be many against him, the Author will endeavour to content himself with the consideration that time is working much faster than common on the points that are most involved in the matter. He is quite satisfied with the umpire. PUEKACK. XI There is a much graver offence against the rights of readers than any contained in the opinions of this work. A vast deal has been printed that should not have been, and much has been omitted that might have been properly said. Li.'* circumstances allowed of no choice between great and acknowledged imperfections, or total silence. Something of the extent of this demerit, therefore, must depend on the fact of whether enough has been told to justify the publication at all. The writer has not treated the public with so little ceremony as to usher a work into their notice without, at least, believing that a fair pro- portion of this apology is contained in its pages. If he deceives himself, it will be his misfortune ; and if he does not deceive his readers, he will rejoice. The circumstances to which allusion has just been made, involve haste in printing no less than haste in selection. There are errors of style, and some faults of grammar, that are perhaps the re- sult of combined neglect on the part of the au- thor, the copyists, and the printers. The word ** assured" is, for instance, used for ** insured,'' and adverbs have, in several cases, been con- verted into adjectives. In one or two instances, negatives have been introduced where it was not intended to use them. But they who detect most of these blunders will know how to make allowances for their existence ; and to those XII PREl- ACK. 1 i' 3, who do not, it will be a matter of but little interest. The author has far less ambition to be thought a fine writer, than to be thought an accu- rate observer and a faithful narrator of what he has witnessed. It will be seen that much use has been made of the opinions and information of a native American. Without some such counsellor, the facts of this book could never have been collected. There is, perhaps, no Christian country on earth in which a foreigner is so liable to fall into errors as in the United States of America. The institutions, the state of society, and even the impulses of the people, are in some measure new and peculiar. The European, under such circumstances, has a great deal to unlearn before he can begin to learn correctly. America has commonly been viewed in the ex- ceptions rather than in the rules. This is a com- mon fault with all travellers, since it at once gratifies their spleen and indulges their laziness. It is a bad compliment to human nature, but not the less true, to say that no young traveller enters a foreign country without early commenc- ing the task of invidious comparison. This is natural enough, certainly, for we instantly miss the things to which we have been accustomed, and which may owe half their value to use ; and it requires time and habit to create new attach- ments. This trait of character is by no means '•I PRKFACE. XUl 1 confined to Europe. The writer can assure his con- temporaries, that few men travel among foreign nations with a more laudable disdain than the native of the States of which these volumes treat. He has his joke and his sneer, and not unfre- quently his reason, as well as the veriest petit- maitre of the Tuileries, or any exquisite of a London club-house. Ere long he will begin to make books, too ; and as he has an unaccommo- dating manner of separating the owner from the soil, it is not improbable that he may find a pro- cess by which he will give all due interest to the recollections of former ages, while he pays a passing tribute to this. The writer has not the smallest doubt that many orthodox unbelievers will listen to what he has said of America in this work, with incredu- lous ears. He invites all such stout adherents to their own preconceived opinions, to submit to a certain examination of facts that are perfectly within their reach. He would propose that they inquire into the state of America as it existed fifty years ago, and that they then compare it with its present condition. After they have struck a balance between the two results, they can safely be left to their own ruminations as to the proba- bility of a people, as barbarous, as ignorant, and as disorganized, as they have been accustomed to consider the Americans, being very likely to work such miracles. When they have honestly come to XIV PREFACE. il; 1 1 ;))• 1' k a conclusion, it is possible they may be disposed to give some credit to the contents of the follow- ing pages. It is not pretended that the actual names of the individuals to whom these letters are addressed are given in the text. It is hoped that eight or ten single gentlemen can meet once in three years in a club, and that they can pass the intermediate time in journeying about the world, occasionally publishing a few ideas on what they have seen,, without being reduced to the necessity of doing so much violence to their modesty as to call each other unequivocally by their proper appellations. Had they been disposed to lives of free comment and criticism, it is more than probable that they would have all been married men these years. One more word on the subject-matter of these pages, and the writer will then commit them to the judgment of his readers without further comment. In producing a work on the United States, the truth was to be dealt with fearlessly, or the task had better have been let alone. In such a coun- try, existing facts are, however, of consequence only as they are likely to affect the future. It is of little moment to know that so many houses are in a town, or so many straw beds in such a house, when premises are at hand to demonstrate clearly, that in a year or two the roofs of the city will be doubled, and the inmates of the dwelling will PREFACE. XV repose on down. The highest compliment that is, or that can be, paid to the people of the United States, is paid by writers, who are evidently guilty of their politeness under any other state of feeling than that of complacency. The English- man, for instance (he is quoted, because the most industrious in the pursuit), lands in America, and he immediately commences the work of compari- son between the republics and his own country. He is careful enough to avoid all those topics which might produce an unfavourable result (and they are sufficiently numerous), but he instantly seizes on some unfortunate tavern, or highway, or church, or theatre, or something else of the kind, which he puts in glaring contrast with, not the worst, nor the middling, but the best similar object in his own country. Really there must be something extraordinary in a people, who, having had so much to do, and so very short a time to do it in, have already become the subjects, not only of envy, but of a seemingly formidable rivalry, to one of the oldest and wealthiest nations of Europe! It strikes the writer, that, while these gentlemen are so industriously struggling to prove the existence of some petty object of spleen, they prove a great moral truth in favour of America. What should we think of the boy whose intellect, and labours, and intelligence, were drawn into bold and invidious comparison with those of aged and experienced men ! XVI PKEFACr. iV. t The writer has said very little on the subject of the ordinary vices of mankind ; for he has hopnd that no one will read his book, who has yet to learn that they exist everywhere. If any one supposes that he wishes to paint the people of America as existing in a state superior to human passion, free from all uncharitableness and guile, he takes the liberty to assure him he will fall into an egregious blunder. He has not yet met with such an elysium in his travels. If the bile of any one shall be stirred by the anticipations in which the writer has indulged in favour of the United States of America, he will be sorry ; but as he cannot see how the truth is to be affected, or the fortunes of a great people materially varied, by the dissatisfaction of this or that individual, he has thought it safest for his own reputation to say what he thinks, without taking the pains to ascertain to how many it may be agreeable, or to how many disagreeable. He has avoided personalities, and that, as a traveller, is all he feels bound to do, and hopes he shall always do ; for he is not of that impertinent class of persons, who think the world cannot be suffi- ciently enlightened without invading the sacred precincts of private life. ill CONTENTS OF THE FIRST VOLUME. LETTER L To Sir Frederic Waller. Apology — Meeting with a Travelling Companion — A Travelling Arrangement — English Works on Ame- rica— An Honest Traveller — Opinions of nn Ameri- can • • • • • LETTER IL To the Baron Von Kemperfelt. American Packets — Ships' Cookery — American Com- merce — American Navigation — Effects of the Navigation Laws — Disposition to the Sea — First View of Land . • . . LETTER III. To the Same. Blunders of Europeans — Extravagant Expectations — First Appearance of the Coast— Asking for News — Haihng for News — Conjectures — The Pilot — La Fayette — Interest of the Americans — Speculations — Young American Girl — Suspicion — American Cus- toms— Reasons for Familiarity of Intercourse — The little Isabel — Great Confidence — Leaving the Ship — Deference to Females — Fortifications — Raritan Bay —Trait of Character — New York Harbour — Climate and Scenery — The subdued Manner of the Ameri- cans — The Tie between La Fayette and the VOL. I. b Page 1 to 8 9—22 h I i li'l i XVlll CONTENTS. United States — America and La Fayette — Interest in La Fayette — Feelings of the Children in his Favour — His Fame .... LETTER IV. To the Same. Prejudices against La Fayette — A better Feeling gaining ground — Procession of Steam-boats — Entrance into the American World — Exculpation of the French — Vice President — Approach of La Fayette — His recep- tion— Movement towards the Town — Manner of Approach — Arrival at New York — Castle Garden — Battery— The little Isabel— The City Hotel— Ex- penses, Accommodations, &c. — La Fayette . LETTER V. To Sir Edward Waller, Bart. Route through part of New England — Character of the Country visited — Explanation of the term "Yankee" — Pride in the Appellation — Great Harmony between the People— Rate of Population to the Square Mile — Deceptive Appearance of Population — Reasons for this Appearance — A^^pearance of the Country — Wood, Fertility of Spots, &c. — Maize — New England Villages — Nature of the Scenery — A New England Landscape — Intercourse with the People — English Travellers — How situated in America — New England Innkeepers — Character, Situation in Life, &c. — Dif- ference between them — Feelings which govern Intercourse — Advice to Travellers — Anecdote LETTER VI. To the Same. Mode of Trave'ling — Island of Manhattan — The Manner in which the High Ways are maintained — Reasons why they are not always direct— Ent ranee of Connec- Pagc 22—54 54—69 4 69—91 •'li & •■■"? CONTENTS. XIX Page -54 -69 Page ticut Borders— Exemptions from Visits of the Police — Connection of the different States — Passage of a State Frontier^ — American Statesmen of the Revolution — John Jay — His Services and present Retirement — Anecdote of the Treaty of 1783 — Franklin — Decision of the American Commissioner— Offices held by Mr. Jay, &c. — Official Rank no certain Evidence — Reasons why it should not — Mistake in judging American Manners— Government and Society unconnected — American Colonels and City Warriors — Opinions of a Veteran who kept an Inn — On the utility of Stand- ing Armies — The Dwelling of Mr. Jay — ^Armorial Bearings, Liveries, &c. — Huguenots — French Names — Remains of French Taste in a Farmer — Simple and Dignified Habits of Mr. Jay — Notions of the Employ- ment of Mr. Jay— Odd Faculty in Zerah Colburne 92—120 LETT^.R VII. To the Same. Htv. England — Geographical Limits, &c. — People of New England — Schools — Quality of Instruction — Compared with France — Activity of Thought in America — Reluctance of Europe to believe in Ameri- can Order — Object of Government — Habits and Man- ners of New England — Diffusive Intelligence — Omis- sions of mos ; Travellers — Proportion of New England Population- -Omission of Mr, Hodgson — Equality of Condition and its Effects — Gross Caricature of their Manners — ^Proverbial Curiosity of the People — Pecu- liar Courtesy of the Inhabitants — Situation of the Women — Devotion to their Families — Retirement from the World — Influence of Women in Society — More Women than Men in New England — Influence ofGeneral Intelligence — Effectsof General Intelligence — Peculiar Merit of New England — La Fayette — The Manner of his Journey . . . 120—117 XX CONTENTS. f •- LETTER VIII. To the Baron Von Kemperfelt. New York — What it should have been — The Bays around New York — Harbour, Anchor^e, &c. — Hudson at New York— Wharfs — Yellow Fever but little Dreaded— Fever of 1819 and 1821— Infected Districts — Means of Prevention — Instance of Con- tracting the Disease — Theories concerning the Fever — Facts concerning it — Theories — Animal- culaj said to be the Cause — Character of New York for Health — New York a clean Town — Sur- rounding Communication by Water — Rivalry to con- tend with — Increase and Consequences of Success ^Character of Population — Growth — Increase — Reasons for a Variation — Estimates of Future Size — American Anticipations — Immense Interior Trade — Mr. Clinton — Great Canals — A Case — Justification of Future Expectations — Houses, their Modern Construc- tion— Peculiarity of Appearance — Public Buildings — City Hall — Materials for Building — Churches — Liber- ality of Religious Sects— Churches, Taste, Religion — Apparent Attention to Religion LETTER IX. To the Count Jules de Bethixy. Population of New York — Influence of the Yankees — Markets — Fish, Fowl, Game, &c. — Fruits, Sweetness of the Herbage — Influence of the Sun on the Plants — Delicacy of Melons and Peaches — ^Argument of Cad- wallader — Peculiarity of Climate, Apples, &c. — Style of Living — English Comfort — Condition of the People — Poor Foreigners, Anecdote, Neatness — Brilliancy of the Climate — Furnishing of Houses — Description of a Private Residence — Neatness, Inconveniences, &e. Manner of finishing Furniture— Defects— Bad Taste pHgc 147—179 CONTENTS. XXI PilgC -179 —Effects of a Clear Atmosphere— Mode of Ruild- ing — Comparison with other Dw 'llin^js — Shops, compared with French Houses — Reasons for the Intermediate Taste — Equipages, compared with European — Effects of Habit on the Taste . LETTER X. To the Same. Manners of Amei an Society — Less artificial than in Europe — Itifluonce of Fashion — Less despotic here — Influence of Talents, Money and Birth — How far Birth is respected — Reasons for the same — Morals necessary to Influence — Luxuries quite common — Anecdote of a Farmer — Armorial Bearings — Aristocratic Usages dis- appearing— Instances of Succession to Office — Society of New York — Influence of Merchants — Remains of Colonial Aristocracy — Coldness of Manner — Anec- dote to exemplify it — Reasons for the same — Effect of Religious Dogmas — Coldness of Manners accounted for . LETTER XL To the Same. Attachment of the Americans to La Fayette — Anecdotes — La Fayette's Return from Boston — Arrangements for the Fete — Order in Society without Precedency— The Castle Garden Fete — Description of the Salle — Immense Assembly, Appearance, &c. — Entrance and Reception of La Fayette — Nature of the Company — All Classes met together — Area of the Castle, Bay and Scene — Reflections — A Bachelor's Confessions — De- portment of American Females — Disinterestedness of Marriages — Costume of the Labouring Classes — The Attire of Females — Manners of the Women — Beauty of the Girls — Early fading of the Women — Not so ge- neral as believed — Communication between the un- Page 180—205 204—237 XXII COxNTJiNTS. I h '! 1 ! married — Rarely abused, and Reasons wliy — Ha- bits of an American Ciirl — Reserve and Simplicity of the Women — Peculiar Reserve in Conversation — Cus- toms of different Countries — Prr is used in the Upper Classes — Confidinc: Fractic M considered, are addicted to navigation, as com- pared with Great Britain, in the proportion of more than seven to five; nor has this commercial, or rather maritime spirit arisen under auspices so en- couraging as is generally imagined. The navigation laws, adopted by the United States, so soon as their present constitution went into operation, are generally known. Their cft'ect was to bring the shipping of the country into instant competition with that of foreign nations, from the state of temporary depression into which it had been thrown by the struggle of the Revolu- tion. From that hour, the superiority enjoyed by the American, in cheapn*^^ ss of construction, provisions and naval stores, aided by the unrivalled activity, and practical knowledge of the population, put all foreign competition at defiance. Of 60G,000 tons of shipping employed in 1790, in the foreign trade of the country, not less than 251,000 tons were the property of strangers. In 1794, while the trade employed 611,000 tons, but 84,000 tons were owned by foreigners. In 1820 (a year of great depression), the trade gave occupation to 880,000 tons, of which no more than 79,000 tons were foreign property. This estimate, however, includes the intercourse with the least, no less than that with the most m?.ritime nation. The trade between the United States and England, which is the most important of all, in respect of the tonnage it em- ploys, was about three to one, in favour of the "m m. Ill 16 DISPOSITION TO THE SEA. former ; with other countries it varies according to the maritime character of the people, but with all and each it is altogether in favour of the United States. Now, one would think these simple facts, which have withstood the tests of colonial policy, and of political independence ; of peace and of war ; of a fair and of a specious neutrality ; of open violence and of self-imposed restrictions, for more than a century, might be deemed conclusive of the ability no less than of the disposition of the Ame- ricans to continue what they now are — a people more maritime in their habits and pursuits, com- pared with their numbers, than any that exist, or who have ever gone before them. Still there are real or pretended sceptics. It is contended that a continental nation, possessed of territories so vast, and which are peopled by so spare a popula- tion, cannot continue in pursuits to which nature and interest present so many obstacles. The proposition is something, as if one should say, Russia is a country of extensive territory, that is but thinly peopled, and so is America. Now, as Russia is not, neither therefore can America be maritime. Nor are the arguments by which this singular proposition is supported, less absurd than the position itself. Notwithstanding the obsti- nate, glaring, and long continued fact, that the American has and does neglect the tillage of his virgin forests, in order to seek more congenial DfSPOSlTION TO THE SKA. 17 be I this than ►sti- the his Inial sources of wealth on the ocean, one hears it hotly contended every day, that this state of things has been created by adventitious circum- stances, and must cease as the influence of those circumstances ceases, and that of others shall come into action. You are told that America has such an interior of fertile plains as belongs to few nations ; but you are not reminded by these partizans, that she also possesses such an extent of coast, such rivers, such bays, and such a number of spacious and commodious havens as are the property of no other people. If, in reply, you venture to say that as England, for so long a time the most commercial and maritime nation of the world, is indebted to her civil and religious liberty for the character of industry and enterprise that she has so well earned, so must America, possessing these inestimable blessings in a still greater degree, arrive at a still greater degree of commercial and maritime prosperity, the answer is ready. England is an island, and she has an over- flowing population. Java and Japan, Ceylon and Madagascar, Sicily and Zealand, and hundreds of others, are just as much islands as Great Britain. It is therefore clear, something more than a mere insular situation is necessary to induce a people to become maritime, since there is a superabun- dance of population in all the islands just named. England herself was not eminently maritime until the reign of Elizabeth, when the influence of VOL. I. c '^\ 18 DISPOSITION TO TlIF, SEA. that civil and religious liberty which has made her what she is, began to be felt fairly and generally in the realm. So late as the reign of Henry VII., the " world-seeking Genoese," was compelled to find a patroness to his mighty enterprise in the queen of an interior province of the Spanish Pe- ninsula ! Though Turkey in Europe is not actually washed by the water on every side, still there are few countries (including Greece,) that possess so many natural advantages for commerce and navi- gation. That her flag is not now seen in every sea, is to be ascribed more to the mental darkness which envelopes her empire, than to the imma- terial fact that nature has forgotten to run a streight between the Euxine and the Adriatic. France lies on two seas, and has long enjoyed the advantages of science and great intelligence ; and yet France, considered with reference to her civi- lization and resources, is but a secondary power in respect to commerce and navigation. If she has had fleets, they have not been the healthful and vigorous offspring of her trade, but were main- tained, as they were created, by the more sickly efforts of political care. Does any man believe, were the Pyrenees and Alps another channel, that the condition of France, in this particular, would be materially altered ? The talents, and science, and enterprise of France, have hitherto been mainly pressed into the employment of the government. In whatever they have arrived at ■-■•??■ DISPOSITION TO THK SEA. 10 eher lly in ., the Bd to in the hPe- tually ire are ess so 1 navi- every rkness imma- run a driatic. ^ed the e; and er civi- Dwer in he has ■ul and main- sicklv )elieve, annel, icular, s, and itherto of the ved at i i perfection, they have been concentrated in order to consolidate the power of the state, instead of being dispersed to effect that vast accumulation of individual prosperity which constitutes the real wealth of nations. Precisely as the situation of England offers an excepticvi to this general rule, just in that degree has there been a misapplication also of her advantages. In the one instance, a mighty aristocracy has been created ; in the other, as mighty a despotism. The latter country has now become constitutional; and though she has to contend against long and inveterate habits, a national temperament created by those habits, and many of the obstacles of what may almost be termed, in this respect, an infant condition, I think it will be found that she will become more commercial, and consequently more maritime, precisely as her institutions become more free. The secret of all enterprise and energy exists in the principle of individuality. Wealth does not more infallibly beget wealth, than the right to the exercise of our faculties begets the desire to use them. The slave is every where indolent, vicious, and abject; the freeman active, moral, and bold. It would seem that is the best and safest, and, consequently, the wisest government, which is content rather to protect than direct the national prosperity, since the latter system never fails to impede the efforts of that individuality which makes men industrious and enterprising. As all c 2 ~"!*X 20 DISPOSITION TO THE SF.A. I questions of politics are, however, so perfectly practical, I well know that in deciding on particu- lar governments, they should ever be considered with direct reference to the varied conditions into which abuse, accident, or wisdom has cast the different communities of the world. But, if one can be fcand so favoured by its physical advan- tages, so fortified by its moral and intellectual superiority, as to enable it to leave man to the freest and noblest exercise of his energies and will, is it wise, or is it even safe, to deny, merely because they are vast, the very results which are admitted to be produced, in a lesser degree, by a state of things in which the same operating causes are found to exist under more limited modi- fications ? Herein, as it appears to me, is to be traced the real motive of that glaring unwillingness to allow the natural effects of the unprecedented liberty of America, which one must be blind not to see, has taken so deep root in the feelings of most of our eastern politicians. The American himself, familiar with the changes and improve- ments of his own time, big with the spirit that has wrought them, and filled with the noblest and most manly anticipations for the future, is derided because he cannot bring his wishes to tho level of the snail-paced and unnatural progress of European society. I say unnatural, because power, or necessity, if you will, has so heavily cumbered it with artificial restrictions. I have L'S POSITION TO THE SEA. 21 fectlv rticu- dered s into 3t the if one idvan- ectual to the 2s and Tierely ich are 3, by a grating I modi- s to be ngness dented nd not ngs of lerican prove- it that Qoblest ure, is to the; ogress )ecause heavily I have had leisure for some thought, dear Baron, on this subject. I fear it is a theme that is disposed of with too little ceremony by most of us who dwell in the ancient hemisphere. Europe, with all her boasted intelligence, has not even the merit of foreseeing results that only become apparent as they force themselves on her unwilling notice. For one, I am determined, in "ly own poor person, to profit a. much as may be by the situation into which I have been accidentally thrown. Not- withstanding I am already deeply impressed with the opinion that America is to be the first mari- time nation of the earth, it would be unpardonable ignorance to deny that the great causes which are likely to induce this division, if not transfer, of commercial ascendancy, are liable to many quali- fying and counteracting obstacles. Most of these minor circumstances were either beyond the in- vestigations of a stranger, or it exceeded my knowledge of American history, to estimate the extent of their influence. With a view to throw as much light as possible on the inquiry, I have addressed a few questions to my travelling com- panion, and have received his answers, which are transcribed for your benefit. If they are coloured by national partialities, a mun of your age and experience ought to be able to detect them; and if, on the other hand, they are just and rea- sonable, it is due to ourselves and the truth, to admit their force. You will at once perceive, that, 22 LAND. in putting my queries, I have been governed by those points which one hears pressed the most when the European is willing to turn his eyes from the contemplation of more interesting, be- cause more familiar, objects, in order to inquire into the new order c^ things, that is almost in- sensibly, though so rapidly, working a change in the comparative conditions of the different states of Christendom. You will find my queries, with their answers, inclosed.* Neither our situa- tion nor inclinations admitted that the one or the other should be very elaborate. There is a cry of land, and I must hasten on deck to revel in the cheerful sight. Adieu. IV 1 I ; 11 ■ ' II ¥: I : ;i'i| TO THE BARON VON KEMPERFELT, New York, - I THREW aside my pen abruptly, dear Baron, in order to catch a first view of America. There is something so imposing in the sound of the word^ — continent, that I believe it had served to lead me into a delusion, at which a little reflection has induced me to be the first to smile. My ideas of this remote and little known moiety of the * See note B, at end of the volume. BLUXUKHS OK KL'ROJ'EANS. 23 ed by most eyes be- nquire Dst in- hange flferent Lieries, situa- or the ten on 3aron, There of the ved to lection \f ideas of the world, have ever been so vague and general, that I confess the folly of having expected to see the land make its appearance en masse, and with a dignity worthy of its imposing name. The mind has been so long accustomed to divide the rest of the globe into parts, and to think of them in their several divisions of countries and pro- vinces, that one expects to see no more of each, at a coup (fa'tl, than what the sight can embrace.* Now, ridiculous as it may seem, I had, unac- countably, imbibed the impression that America was to appear, at the first glance, larger to the * The Americans say, it is a common and absurd blunder of the European to blend all his images of America in one confused whole. Thus one talks of the climate of America! of the soil of America ! and even of the people and manners of America ! (meaning always the continent too, and not the United States.) No doubt there are thousands who know better; but still there is a good deal of truth in the charge. The writer was frequently amused, during his voyage, by hearing the passengers (mostly Americans) relate the ridiculous mistakes that have been made by Europeans, otherwise well informed, when conversing on tha sub- ject of the trans-atlantic continent. Countries which lie on different sides of the equator, are strangely brought in contact, and people, between whom there is little affinity of manners, religion, govern- ment, language, or, indeed, of any thing else, are strangely blended in one and the same image. It would seem to be an every day occurrence, for Americans to have inquiries made concerning indi- viduals, estates, or events which exist, or have had an existence, at some two or three thousand miles from their own places of resi- dence, just as if the Dane should be expected to answer interroga- .tories concerning the condition of a farm situate on the Po ! 24 EXTRAVAGANT EXPECTATIONS. Ill senses than the little island I had left behind me. You are at perfect liberty to make yourself just as merry as you please at this acknowledgment ; but, if the truth could be fairly sifted, I have no doubt it would be found that most European adventurers, who seek these western regions, have formed expectations of its physical or moral attributes, quite as extravagant as was my own unfortunate image of its presence. I have taken the disappointment as a salutary admonition, that a traveller has no right to draw these visionary scenes, and then quarrel with the people he has come to visit, because he tinds that he has seen fit to throw into a strong light, those parts which nature has every where been pleased to keep in shadow; or to colour highest the moral properties, which the same wise dame has sagaciously kept down, in order that those qualities, which it has been her greatest delight to lavish on man, may for ever stand the boldest and most prominent in her own universal picture. Instead of beholding, on reaching the deck, some immense mountain, clad in a verdant dress of luxurious and unknown vegetation, lifting its tall head out of the sea, and imperiously frowning on the sister element, my first view was of that same monotonous waste with which my eyes had been sat?d to weariness, during the last three weeks. The eager question of " Where is America ?" was answered by Cadwallader, who silently pointed to a 5 -..V I'lUST APPEAUANCl!: OF THE COAST. 25 little, blue, cloud-like mound, tb'at rose above the western horizon in three or four undulating swells, and then fell away to the north and to the south, losing itself in the water. I believe I should have expressed my disappointment aloud, but for the presence, and, more particularly, for the air of my companion. His eye was riveted on the spot with all the fondness of a child who is greeting the countenance of a well-beloved parent. It appeared to me that it penetrated far beyond those little hills of blue, and that it was gifted with power to roam over the broad vallies, vast lakes, and thousand rivers of his native land. I fancied that his philanthropic spirit was deeply enjoying those scenes of domestic happiness, of a aiet, of abundance, and of peace, which he has so often as- sured me exist, beyond a parallel, within her bor- ders. Perhaps a secret consciousness of my own absurdity, came in season, also, to prevent so un- fortunate an exposure of my high-wrought expec- tations. The season of the year, a soft, balmy, southerly breeze, and the air from the land, however, were all present to restore good humour. The little hillocks soon swelled into modest mountains ; and then a range of low, sandy, and certainly not in- viting, coast, was gradually rising along the western margin of the view. The sea was dotted with a hundred sails, all of which were either receding from, or approaching, a low point that was as yet 26 A.SKl\(i FOK NKWS. scarcely visible, and which extended a few miles to the northward of the high land already men- tioned. Beyond, in that direction, nothing more was as yet apparent, than the tame view of the sea. Three or four small schooners were lying off and on, under jib and mainsail, gliding about, like so many marine birds soaring over their native waters. From time to time, they threw pilots on board of, or received them from, the different ships that were quitting or entering the haven within the Cape. On the whole, the scene was lively, cheering, and, compared to the past, filled with the most animating expectations. It was not long before a beautiful little sloop, of a formation and rig quite different from any I had ever before seen, came skimming the waves directly in our track. Her motion was swift and graceful, and likely to bring us soon within speak- ing distance. It was a fishing smack, out of which the captain was disposed to obtain some of the delicious bass that are said to abound on certain banks that lie along this coast. We were disap- pointed of our treat, for the fisherman answered the signal by intimating that he had sold the last of his stock, but the manoeuvres of the two vessels brought us near enough to hail. ** Is there any news ?" roared the captain, through his trumpet, while we were gliding past each other, The answer came against the breeze, and was nearly indistinct. The words " Cadmus in," were, how- !'■ llAlI.INCi FOK Nt.VV'S. 27 ever, affirmed by more than one eager listener, to form part of the reply. Every body r.ow pressed about our commander, to inquire who or what was this Cadmus, and what he or she might be in ? But the captain was not able to gratify our curi- osity. Cadmus was the name of a ship in the French trade, it seemed, and formed one in a line of packets between Havre and New York, just as our own vessel did between the latter port and Liver- pool. ** It is not surprising that she should be in,*' continued our honest commander, "for she sailed on the 13th, whereas, we only got clear of the land, as you well know,genUemen, on the 18th of the same month ; a passage of one and twenty days, at this season of the year, cannot be called a bad one." As it was quite evident the ideas of the worthy seaman M'ere in a channel very dif- ferent from our own, we were fain to wait for some more satisfactory means of arriving at the truth. Another opportunity was not long wanting. A large coasting schooner passed within two hun- dred feet of us. A tar was standing on her quarter-deck, both hands thrust into the bosom of his sea-jacket, eyeing our ship with a certain un- derstanding air that need not be explained to one who claims himself to be so promising a child of Neptune. This individual proved to be the mas- ter of the coaster, and to him our captain again roared ** Any news ?" " Ay, ay ; all alive up in the bay," was the answer. The vessels were 1^ 28 COyjECTUIlES. sweeping by each other with tantalizing rapidity, and without paying the customary deference to nautical etiquette, some six or seven of the pas- sengers united in bawling out, as with one voice, '* What news, what news?" The envious winds again bore away the answer, of which no more reached our ears than the same perplexing words of ** Cadmus is in." In the absence of all certainty, I ventured to ask Cadwallader, whether an important election had not just passed, in which some favourite name- sake of the founder of Thebes had proved success- ful. This surmise, however, was not treated with any particular deference, and then we were left to devise our own manner of explaining the little we had heard by the aid of sheer invention. In the mean time the ship was pressing steadily towards her haven. The high land which, in contra-distinction to the low, sandy beach, that extends for hundreds of leagues along the coast of this country, has obtained the name of ** Never- sink," ceased to rise, and objects had become distinct on its brown acclivity. A light-house on the Cape was soon plainly visible, and a large buoy was seen, heaving and setting with the unquiet waters, to mark the proper entrance to a wide bay, that stretched, farther than the eye could reach, to the westward. Just without this rolling beacon, lay a low, graceful, rakish, little schooner, in waiting to give us a pilot. The wind was THt I' I LOT. 29 fa '■ti ■~^ getting light, and there was no necessity to arrest the progress of the ship to receive this welcome harbinger of the comforts of the land. It may be unnecessary to add, that we all pressed around him, in a body, to attain the solution of our recent doubts, and to hear the tidings of another hemi- sphere. I was struck with the singular air of exultation with which this sturdy marine guide delivered himself of the intelligence with which he was evidently teeming. To the usual question, he gave a quick answer, and in nearly the same language as the seaman of the fishing-smack, ** Cadmus in," again rung in our ears, without leaving us any wiser than before we had heard the inexplicable words. " She has been long enough from Havre, to be out again," retorted our captain, with a dryness that savoured a little of discontent. ** If you think so much of the arrival of the Cadmus in thirty days, from France, what will you say to that of my ship, in twenty-one, from Liverpool?" "Your owners may be glad to see you, but then, you've not got the old man aboard." " We have them here of all ages : and, what is far better, some of both sexes!" returned one of the passengers, throwing a glance at the interested features of a beautiful young creature, who was eagerly listening to catch the syllables that should first impart intelligence from her native country. *' Ay, ay ; but you have no La Fayette in the 30 LA FAYFTTE. ii i: t ship.'' "La Fayette!" echoed, certainly every American within hearing. " Is La Fayette ar- rived ?" demanded Cadwallader, with the quick- ness of lightning, and with an animation far greater than I had ever given him credit for pos- sessing. " That is he, safe and well. He has been on the island with the vice-president since yester- day. This morning he is to go up to town, where he will find himself a welcome guest. The bay abovp is alive," our guide concluded, jerking his thumb over one shoulder, and looking as if he were master of a secret of some importance. Here, then, was a simple and brief explanation of the event on which we had been exercising our faculties for the last two hours. For myself, I confess, I was disappointed, expecting little short of some revo- lution in the politics of the state. But the effect on most of my companions was as remarkable as it was sudden. Cadwallader did not speak again for many minutes. He walked apart; and I saw, by his elevated head and proud step, that the man was full of lofty and patriotic recollec- tions. The eyes of the fair girl just mentioned, were glistening, and her pretty lip was actually quivering with emotion. A similar interest in the event was manifested, in a greater or less degree, by every individual in the ship, who claimed the land we were approaching as the country of his birth. The captain lost every shade of discontent on the instant, and even the ::m INTEREST OF THE AMERICANS. 31 native portion of the crew, suspended their labour to listen to what was said, with a general air of gratification and pride. I will acknowledge, Baron, that I was touched myself, at the common feeling thus betrayed by so many differently constituted individuals ; and, at so simple an occurrence. There was none of that noisy acclamation with which the English seamen are apt to welcome any grateful intelli- gence, nor a single exaggerated exclamation, like those which characterize the manners of most of the continental nations of Europe, in their mani- festations of pleasure. It was not long ere Cadwallader had taken the pilot apart, and was earnestly engaged in extract- ing all the information he deemed necessary, on a subject he found so interesting. I was soon made acquainted with the result. It seems, that after an absence of forty years. La Fayette had returned to visit the land in which he had laid the foundation of his fame. That he had reached a country where hearts and arms would alike be open to receive him, was sufficiently manifest in the manner of all around me ; and I could not but felicitate myself, in being so fortunate as to have arrived at a moment likely to elicit some of the stronger emotions of a people, who are often accused of insensibility to all lively impres- sions, and most of whose thoughts, like their time, are said to be occupied in heedful considerations T E '(■■ f ?11 ■ ;- i 1 >; I i t i i' ii 32 SPECULATIONS. \h\ Hi f iif ■ of the future. Here was, at least, an occasion to awaken recollections of the past, and to elicit something like a popular display of those gene- rous qualities which constitute, what may not improperly be called, the chivalry of nations. It would be curious, also, to observe, how far political management was mingled, in a perfect democracy; with any demonstrations of pleasure it might be thought expedient to exhibit, or in what degree the true popular sentiment sympa- thized with feelings that, in one section of the earth, are, as you well know, not unfrequently played off by the engines of governmental power. I was not sorry, therefore, to listen to the plans of my companion. A boat, in the employment of the journals of the city, was by this time along- side the ship, and having obtained the little news we had to impart, it was about to return into the haven, in order to anticipate the arrival of the vessel, which was likely to be delayed for many hours by a flat calm and an adverse tide. In this boat it was proposed that we should take passage, as far, at least, as the place where La Fayette had made his temporary abode. The earnestness with which Cadwallader pressed this plan, was not likely to meet with any objections from me. Tired of the ship, and eager to place my foot on the soil of the western world, the proposal was no sooner made than it was accepted. The boat was in- stantly engaged for our exclusive benefit, and 1: YOUNG AMERICAN GIUL. 33 the the age, had with not ired soil oner i in- and the necessary preparations made for our depar- ture. And now a little incident occurred, which, as it manifests a marked difference in the manners, and perhaps in the characters of those who inhabit this republic, and the possessors of our own Eu- rope, I shall take the liberty to introduce. I have already mentioned a fair creature as being among our passengers. She is of that age when, in our eyes, the sex is most alluring, because we know it to be the most innocent. I do not think her years can much exceed seventeen. Happily, your Belgic temperament is too mercurial to require a tincture of romance to give interest to a simple picture, in which delicacy, feminine beauty, and the most commendable ingenuousness, were ad- mirably mingled. Neither am I, albeit, past the time of day-dreams, and wakeful nights, so utterly insensible to the attractions of such a being, as to have passed three weeks in her society, without experiencing some portion of that manly interest in her welfare, which, I fear, it has been my evil fortune to have felt for too many of the syrens in general, to permit a sufficient concentration of the sentiment, in favour of any one in particular. £ had certainly not forgotten, during the passage, to manifest a proper spirit of homage to the loveliness of the sex, in the person of this young Americai*; nor do I think that my manner failed to express a prudent and saving degree of the admiration VOL. I. D "rtJi 34 FREEDOM FROM SUSPICION. that was excited by her gentle, natural, and nymph-like deportment, no less than by her spirited and intelligent discourse. In short — but you* were not born in Rotterdam, nor reared upon the Zuy der Zee, to need a madrigal on such a topic. The whole affair passed on the ocean, and, as a nautical man, you will not fail to com- prehend it. Notwithstanding I had made every effort to appear, what you know I really am, sufficiently amiable, during the voyage, and, not- withstanding Cadwallader had not given himself any particular trouble on the subject at all, it was not to be denied that there was a marked dis- tinction in the reception of our respective civilities, and that, always in his favour. I confess that, for a long time, I was disposed (in the entire absence of all better reasons) to ascribe this preference to an illiberal national prejudice. Still, it was only by comparison that I had the smallest rational grounds of complaint. But a peculiarly odious quality attaches itself to comparisons of this na- ture. There is a good deal of the Caesar in my composition, as respects the sex ; unless I could be first with the Houries, I believe I should be willing to abandon Paradise itself, in order to seek pre-eminence in some humbler sphere. I fear this ambitious temperament has been our bane, and has condemned us to the heartless and un- social life we lead ! Our fair fellow passenger was under the care of an aged and invalid grandfather, M '*'mt_ SUSPICION. 35 1, and y her t — but I upon such a ocean, 0 com- every ly am, d, not- himself all, it :ed dis- vilities, hat, for absence -ence to ras only rational odious this na- • in my 1 could luld be to seek I fear T bane, ind un- Iger was f Idfather, who had been passing a few years in Italy, in pur- suit of health. Now, it is not easy to imagine a 'more cuttingly polite communication, than that which this vigilant old guardian permitted between me and his youthful charge. If I approached, her joyous, natural, and enticing (I will not, be- cause a little piqued, deny the truth, Baron,) merriment was instantly changed into the cold and regulated ^^miles of artificial breeding. Nature seemed banished at my footstep : and yet it was the artlessness and irresistible attractions of those fas- cinations, which so peculiarly denote the influence of the "lighty dame, that were constantly tempt- ing me to obtrude my withering presence on her enjoyments. With Cadwallader, every thing was reversed. In his society, she laughed without ceasing ; chatted, disputed, was natural and happy. To all this intercourse, the lynx-eyed grandfather paid not the smallest attention. He merely seemed pleased that his child had found an agree- able, and an instructive companion ; while, on the contrary, there existed so much of attractive- ness in our respective systems, that it was im- possible for me to approach the person of the daughter, without producing a corresponding proximity on the part of the parent. Something nettled by a circumstance that, to one who is sensible he is not as interesting as for- merly, really began to grow a little personal, I took occasion to joke Cadwallader on his superior D 2 n 36 AMERICAN CUSTOMS. happiness, and to felicitate myself on the probabi- lity, that I might yet enjoy the honour of officiating", in my character of a confirmed celibite, at his nupti&'5. He heard me without surprise, and an- swered me without emotion. " I thought the circumstance could not long escape one so quick sighted," he said. " You think I am better re- ceived than yourself? The fact is indisputable ; and, as the motive exists in customs that distin- guish us, in a greater or 'ess degree, from every other people, I will endeavour to account for it. In no other country, is the same freedom of inter- course between the unmarried of the two sexes, permitted, as in America. In no other christian country, is there more restraint imposed on the communications between the married : in this par- ticular, we reverse the usages of all other civilized nations. The why, and the wherefore, shall be pointed out to you, in proper time ; but the present case requires its own explanation. Surprising, and possibly suspicious, as may seem to you the easy intercourse I hold with my young country- woman, there is nothing in it beyond what yc i will see every day in our society. The father permits it, because / am his countryman^ and he is watchful of you, because you are not! Men of my time of life, are not considered particularly dangerous to the affections of young ladies of seventeen, for unequal matches are of exceedingly rare occurrence among us. And, if I were what I "■■■'>*■.■(> obabi- iating, at his .nd an- ht the ) quick tter re- atable ; distin- 1 every t for it. ifinter- I sexes, hristian on the [his par- uvilized shall be present prising, you the jountry- lat yci father nd he is Men of icularly adies of iedingly } what I REASONS FOR 1 AMlLlARllY OF INTERCOURSE. 37 have been,*' he added, smiling, " I do not know that the case w uld be materially altered. In every thing but years, the grandfather of the fair Isabel, knows that I am the equal of his charge. It would be quite in the ordinary course of thnigs, that a marriage should grow out of this communi- cation. Ninety-nine, in one hundred, of our family connexions, are formed very much in this manner. Taste and inclination, rather guided, than con- trolled, by the prudence of older heads, form most of our matches ; and just as much freedom as com- ports with that prudence, and a vast deal more than you probably deem safe, is allowed between the young of the two sexes. We, who ought to, and who do know best, think otherwise. Women are, literally, our better halves. Their frailty is to be ascribed to the seductions of man. In a com- munity like ours, where almobt every man has some healthful and absorbing occupation, there is neither leisure, nor inclination, to devote much time to unworthy pursuits. I need not tell you that vice must be familiar, before it ceases to be odious. In Europe, a successful intrigue often gives tdat, even to an otherwise contemptible in- dividual; in America, he must be it peculiarly fortunate man, who can withstand its odium. But the abuse of youth and innocence with us, is com- paratively rare indeed. In consequence, suspi- cion slumbers ; voila toutJ'' "But why this difference, then, between you 38 THE LITVLK ISAliEK. and me?" I demanded. ** Why does this Cerberus sleep only while you are nigh ? I confess I looked for higher courtesy in a man who has travelled." " It is precisely because he has travelled," my friend interrupted, a little dryly. " But you can console yourself with the expectation, that those of his countrymen, who have never quitted home, will be less vigilant, because less practised in foreign manners." This introduction brings me to my incident. It was no sooner known that we were about to quit the ship, than a dozen longing faces gathered about us. Our example was followed by others, and one or two more boats from the land were engaged to transport the passengers into the bay, in order that they might witness the reception of La Fayette. I had observed a cloud of disap- pointment on the fair brow of the little Isabel, from the moment our intentions were known. The circumstance was mentioned to Cadwallader, who was not slow to detect its reason. After a little thought, he approached the grandfather, r^d made an offer of as many seats, in our own boat, as might be necessary for the accommodation of his party. It seems the health of the old man would not per- mit the risk. The offer was, therefore, politely declined. The cloud thickened on the brow of Isabel; but it vanished entirely when her aged grandfather proposed that she should accompany us, attended by a maid, and u?ider the especial pro- :'tl GUEAT CONFIDENCE. 39 rberus looked lied." /," my ou can : those home, sed in ;nt. It to quit ithered others, d were le bay, )tion of disap- Isabel, The r, who a little made might party. ot per- olitcly row of ' aged npany d pro- tect io}i of my companion. In all this arrangement, singular as it appeared to my eastern vision, there was the utmost simplicity and confidence. It was evident, by the tremulous and hesitating assent of the young lady, that even the customs of the country were slightly invaded ; but, then, the occasion was deemed sufficiently extraordinary to justify the innovation. ** So much for the privileges of two score and five," whispered Cad- wallader, after he had handed his charge into the boat. For myself, I admit I rejoiced in an omen that was so flattering to those personal preten- sions which, in my own case, are getting to be a little weakened by time. Before closing this rela- tion, of what I consider a distinctive custom, it is proper to add, that had not the parties been of the very highest class of society, even far less hesitation would have been manifested ; and that the little reluctance exhibited by Isabel, was rather a tribute paid to that retiring delicacy which is thought to be so proper to her sex, than to the most remote suspicion of any positive im- propriety. Had she been a young married woman, there would, probably, have been the same little struggle with timidity, and the same triumph of the curiosity of the sex. But the interest which our fair companion took in the approaching ceremony, deserves a better name. It was plain, by her sparkling eyes and flushed features, that a more worthy sentiment was at I r 40 LKAVIXCJ TMK SI1I1». the bottom of her impulses — it was almost pa- triotism. Behold us then in the boat ; Cadwallader, the gentle Isabel, and our three attendants, and im- pelled by the vigorous arms of four lusty water- men. We were still upon the open sea, and our dis- tance from the city not less than seven leagues. The weather, however, was propitious, and our little bark, no less than its crew, was admirably adapted to inspire confidence. The former was long and narrow, but buoyant, and of beautiful construction, being both light and strong. The latter, it ap- pears, are of a class of watermen, that are renowned in this country, under the name of Whitehallers. I have every reason to believe their reputation is fairly earned ; for they urged the boat onward with great speed, and with the most extraordinary ease to themselves. I re- marked, that their stroke was rather short, and somewhat quick, and that it was made entirely with the arm, the body remaining as nearly up- right as possible when the limbs are exerted. At first, I thought these men were less civil than com- ported v;ith their condition. They touched their hats to us, it is true, on entering the boat, but it was rather too much in the manner of a salutation of equality; at least, there was no very visible manifestation of a sense of inferiority. Closer observation, however, furnished no additional grounds of complaint. Their whole deportment DEFER ENCK TO Fl MAI.KS. 41 st pa- er, the id im- water- urdis- s. The r little 3apted ig and action, it ap- it are ime of believe I urged th the I re- t, and itirely •ly up- At com- their but it tation isible loser tional Itment was civil, nor, though far from humble, could it be termed in any degree obtrusive ; still it was not precisely European. There seemed no sin of commission, but something of omission, that was offensive to the established superiority of a man of a certain number of quarterings. Perhaps I was more alive to this jealous feeling, from knowing that I was in a republican country, and from the fact, that I had so recently quitted one where the lower classes bow more, and the higher less, than among any other christian people. The strokes- man of the boat took some interest in seeing us all properly bestowed. With the utmost coolness he appropriated the best place to Isabel, and then with the same sang Jroid intimated that her attendant should occupy the next. Neither was he • J .orant that the object of his care was a do- mestic, for he called her " the young woman,*' while he distinguished her mistress as '* the young lady." I was a little surprised to see that Cad- wiillader quietly conceded the place to this Abigail ; for, during the passage, the distinctions of master and servant always had been sufficiently observed between all our passengers. I even ventured to speak to him on the subject, in Ger- man, of which he has a tolerable knowledge. ''Notwithstanding all that the old world has said of itself on this subject," he coolly answered, " you are now in the true Paradise of women. They receive, perhaps, less idolatry, but more manly 42 FORTIFICATIONS. care here, than in any country I have visited." Truly, Baron, I begin to deem the omens pro- pitious ! After passing at a short distance from the low sandy point already named, we were fairly within the estuary. Thi^ bay is of considerable extent, and is bounded on the north and on the south by land of some elevation. It receives a river or two, from the west, and is partially protected from the ocean, on the east, by a low beach, which ter- minates in the point named, and by an island on the opposite side of the entrance. The mouth is a few miles in width, possessing several shallow channels, but only one of a depth sufficient to admit vessels of a heavy draught. The latter are obliged to pass within musket shot of the point. Cape, or Hooky as it is here called. Thence to the city, a distance of some six leagues, the navigation is so intricate as to render a pilot indispensable. The ruins of an imperfect and insignificant military work were visible on the cape ; but I was told the government is seriously occupied in erecting more formidable fortifications, some of which were shortly visible. A shoal was pointed out, on which it is contemplated to construct an immense castle, at a vast expense, and which, with the other forts built and building, will make the place impregnable against all marine attacks. 1 have been thus diffuse in my details. UAUITAN BAY. 43 dear Baron, because I believe every traveller has a prescriptive right to prove that he enters all strange hinds with his eyes open ; and, because it is cjuitc out of my power to say at what moment youk royal master, the good King William, may see tit to send you at the head of a fleet to regain those possessions, of which his ancestors, of the olden time, were ruthlessly robbed by the cu- pidity of the piratical English! 1 presume, that renovmed navigator, the inde- fatigable Hudson, laboured under some such delu- sion as myself, when his adventurous bark first steered within the capes of this estuary. My eyes were constantly bent towards the west, in expectation of seeing the spires of a town, rear- ing themselves from the water, which still bounded the view in that direction* The boat, however, held its course towards the north, though nothing was visible there, but an unbroken outline of un- dulating hills. It seems we were only in an outer harbour, on a magnificent scale, which takes its name (Raritau Bay) from that of the principal river it receives from the west. A pas- sage through the northern range of hills, became visible as we approached them, and then glimpses of the cheerful and smiling scene within, were first caught. This passage, though near a mile in width, is a strait, compared with the bays within and without, and it is not improperly termed " the Narrows." Directly in the mouth of this passage, 44 TRAIT OF CIIARACTEK. and a little on its eastern side, arises a large, mas- sive fortress, in stone, washed by the water on all its sides, and mounting some sixty or seventy pieces of heavy ordnance. The heights on the adjoining shores, are also crowned with works, though of a less imposing aspect. The latter are the remains of the temporary defences of the late war, while the former, constitutes part of the great plan of permanent defence. Labourers are, how- ever, unceasingly employed on the new forts. The shores, on both hands, were now dotted with marine villas and farm-houses, and the view was alive with all the pleasing objects of civilized life. On our left, a little distance above the pas- sage, a group of houses came into view, and some fifty sail were seen anchored in the offing. *• That, then, is New York!" I said, with a feeling a Jlittle allied to disappointment. My companion was silent, for his thoughts kept him dumb, if not deaf. *' Gentlemen are apt to think they get into the heart of America at the first step,*' very coolly returned our strokesman ; " we are eight good miles from Whitehall slip, and that village is the quarantine ground." This was said without any visible disrespect, but with an air of self-posses- sion that proved our Whitehaller thought it a sub- ject on which long experience had given him a perfect right to bestow an opinion. As I felt in no haste to take the second step into a country where the first had proved so unreasonably long, I M NEW VORK HARBOUR. 45 was fain to await the development of things, with patience. My companions did not manifest any disposition to converse. Even the petite Isabel, though her strong native attachments had been sufficiently apparent, by her previous discourse, was no longer heard. Like our male companion, a sentiment of deep interest in the ensuing scene, kept her silent. At length the exclamation of " there they come !" burst from the lips of Cad- wallader; and there they did come, of a cer- tainty, in all the majesty of a fine aquatic pro- cession, and that too on a scale of magnificence that was admirably suited to the surrounding waters, and as an American would also probably say, *' to the occasion." In order that you may form a better idea of the particular scene, it is necessary that I should attempt a description of some of its parts. The harbour of New York is formed by a junc- tion of the Hudson with an arm of the sea. The latter connects the waters of Raritan Bay with those of a large sound, which commences a few leagues further eastward, and which separates, for more than a hundred miles, the state of Connec- ticut from the long narrow island of Nassau. The Americans call this district Long Island, in common parlance ; but I love to continue those names which perpetuate the recollection of your former dominion. Some six or seven rivers unite here to pour their waters into a vast basin, of perhaps 4@ CLIMATE AND SCENERY. M. sixty or seventy miles in circuit. This basin is sub- divided into two unequal parts by a second island, which is known by the name of Staten, another memento of your ancient power. The Narrows is the connecting passage. The inner bay cannot be less than twenty miles in circumference. It contains three or four small islands, and possesses water enough for all the purposes of navigation, with good anchorage in almost every part. The land around it is low, with the exception of the hills near its entrance, and certain rocky preci- pices of a very striking elevation that on one side line the Hudson, for some miles, commencing a short distance from its mouth. On the present occasion every thing combined to lend to a scenery, that is sufficiently pleasing of itself, its best and fullest effect. The heavens were without a cloud ; the expanse beneath, sup- porting such an arch as would do no discredit to the climate of sunny Italy herself. The bay, stretched as far as eye could reach, like a mirror, unruffled and shining. The heat was rather genial than excessive, and, in fine, as our imagi- native young companion poetically expressed it, ** the very airs were loyal, nor had the olimate forgotten to be true to the feelings of the hour !" It is necessary to have seen something of the ordinarily subdued and quiet manner of these people, in order to enter fully into a just apprecia- tion of the common feeling, which certainly influ- THE SUBDUED MANNER OF THE AMERICANS. 47 the ther I" enced all who were with me in the boat. You probably know that we in Europe are apt to charge the Americans with being cold of tem- perament, and little sensible of lively impressions of any sort. 1 have learnt enough to know, that in return, they charge us, in gross, with living in a constant state of exaggeration, and with affect- ing sentiments we do not feel. I fear the truth will be found as much with them as against them. It is always hazardous to judge of the heart by what the mouth utters : nor is he any more likely to arrive at the truth, who believes that every time an European shows^ his teeth in a smile, he will do you no harm, than he is right who thinks the dog that growls will as infallibly bite. I believe, after all, it must be conceded, that sophistication is not the most favourable science possible for the cultivation of the pas- sions. No man is, in common, more impertur- bable than the American savage ; and who is there more terrible in his anger, or more firm in his attachments ! Let this be as it may, these re- publicans certainly exhibit their ordinary emotions in no very dramatic manner. I had never before seen Cadwallader so much excited, and yet his countenance manifested thought, rather than Joy. Determined to probe him a little closer, I ventured to inquire into the nature of those ties which united La Fayette, a foreigner, and a native of a country that possesses so little in manners and i i- . IIS -■ I'l 48 I. A FAYETTE. opinions in common with his own, to a people so very differently constituted from those among whom he was born and educated. " It is then fortunate for mankind," returned Cadwallader, " that there exist, in nature, prin- ciples which can remove these obstacles of our own creation. Though habit and education do place wide and frequently lamentable barriers between the sympathies of nations, he who has had the address to break through them, without a sacrifice of any natural duty, possesses a merit, which, as it places him above the level of his fellow-creatures, should, and will protect him from their prejudices. It is no small part of the glory of La Fayette, that while he has taken such a hold of our affections as no man probably ever before possessed in those of a foreign nation, he has never, for an instant, for- gotten that he was a Frenchman. In order, how- ever, to appreciate the strength and the reasons of this attachment, as well as the glory it should re- flect on its subject, it is necessary to remember the causes which first brought our present guest among us. " If any man may claim a character for manful and undeviating adherence to what he has deemed the right, under circumstances of nearly irresis- tible temptation to go wrong, it is La Fayette. His love of liberal principles was even conceived under the most unfavourable circumstances. The inful ;med fesis- lette. lived The THE TIE liETWKEN LA FAYETTE AND THE U. S. 49 blandishments of a sensual, but alluring court' the prejudices of a highly privileged caste, with youth, wealth, and constitution, were not auspi- cious to the discovery of truth. None but a man who was impel! :^d by high and generous inten- tions, could have thrown away a load which weighs so many gifted minds to the earth. He has the high merit of being the fir?t French noble- man who was willing to devote his life and fortune to the benefit of the inferior classes. Some vapid and self-sufficient commentators have choaen to term this impulse an inordinate and vain ambition. If their appellation be just, it has been an ambi- tion which has ever proved itself singularly re- gardful of others, and as singularly regardless of self. In the same spirit of detraction have these declaimers attempted to assail the virtue they could not imitate, and to depreciate services, whose very object their contracted minds have not the power to comprehend. I shall not speak of events connected with the revolution in his own country, for they form no other part of our admiration of La Fayette, than as they serve to show us how true and how fearless he has ever been in adhering to what we, in common, believe to be the right. Had he been fitted to control that revolution, as it existed in its worst and most revolting aspects, he would have failed in some of those qualities which are necessary to our esteem. VOL. I. E 50 AMERICA AND LA FAYETTE. " In the remembrance of the connection between La Fayette and his own country, the American finds the purest gratification. It is not enough to say that other men have devoted themselves to the cause of human nature, since we seek, in vain, for one who has done it with so little prospect of future gain, or at so great hazard of present loss. His detractors pretend that he was led into our quarrel by that longing for notoriety, which is so common to youth. It is worthy of remark, that this longing should have been as peculiarly his own by its commencement as by its duration. It is exhibited in the man of seventy, under precisely the same forms that it was first seen in the youth of nineteen. In this particular, at least, it partakes of the immutable quality of truth. " Separate from all those common principles, which, in themselves, would unite us to any man, there are ties of a peculiarly endearing nature between us and La Fayette. His devotion to our cause was not only first in point of time, but it has ever been first in all its moral features. He came to bestow, and not to receive. While others, who brought little beside their names, were seek- ing rank and emoluments, he sought the field of battle. His first commission had scarcely re- ceived the stamp of official forms, before it had received the still more honourable seal of his own blood. A boy in years, a native of a country towards which we had a hereditary dislike, he 'W INTEREST IN LA FAYETTE. 51 jtween lerican enough lives to n vain, ;pect of nt loss, nto our ch is so rk, that larly his ion. It ►recisely le youth partakes jinciples, iiy man, nature in to our , but it es. He others, re seek- field of ely re- le it had his own country ;like, he caused his prudence to be respected among the most prudent and wary people of the earth. He taught us to forget our prejudices : we not only loved him, but we began to love his nation for his sake. Throughout the half century of our inter- course, a period more fraught with eventful changes than any that has preceded it, nothing has occurred to diminish, or to disturb, this affec- tion. As his devotion to our cause never wavered, not even in the darkest days of our adversity, so has our attachment continued steady to the everlasting obligations of gratitude. Whatever occurred in the revolutions of the old world, the eye of America was turned on La Fayette. She watched his movements with all the solicitude of a tender parent ; triumphed in his successes ; sympathised in his reverses ; mourned in his suf- ferings, but always exulted in his constancy. The knowledge of passing events is extended in our country, to a degree that is elsewhere unknown. We heard of the downfal of thrones ; of changes in dynasties ; of victories, defeats, rapine, and war^ until curiosity itself was sated with repetitions of the same ruthless events. Secure in our position, and firm in our principles, the political tornadoes, that overturned the most ancient establishments :• of the old world, sounded in our ears, with no greater effect than the sighings of our own, au- tumnal gales. But no event, coupled with the interests of our friend, was suffered to escape our E 2 52 FEELINGS OF THE CHILDREN IN HIS FAVOUR, -T . notice. The statesman, the yeoman, or the school-boy ; the matron among her offspring ; the housewife amid her avocations ; and the beauty in the blaze of her triumph, forgot alike the passions or interests of the moment, forgot their apathy in the distresses of a portion of the world that they ^^die' i w'as wanting in some of its duty to itself, tf; ^»' at all, and drew near to listen at the name 01 : r t. v^tte. I remember the deep, reverential, I might almost say awful, attention, with which a school of some sixty children, on a remote fron- tier, listened to the tale of his sufferings in the castle of Olmutz, as it was recounted to us by the instructor, who had been a soldier in his youth, and fought the battles of his country, under the orders jf the * young and gallant Frenchman.' We plotted among ourselves, the means of his deliverance ; wondered that the nation was not in arms to redress his wrongs, and were animated by a sort of reflection of his own youthful and generous chivalry. Washington was then with us, and, as he was said to be exerting the influ- ence of his powerful name, vv^hich, even at that early day, was beginning to obtain the high ascen- dancy of acknowledged virtue, we consoled our- selves with the reflection, that he, at least, could never fail. Few Americans, at this hour, enjoy a happier celebrity than Huger, who, in conjunction with a brave German, risked life and liberty to efl'ect the release of our benefactor. 1 4 AVOUR. HIS FAME. 53 or the ng ; the jauty in passions pathy in hat they to itself, Lhe name ^erential, which a Lote fron- ts in the as by the Lis youth, under the pnchman.' ns of his was not animated [thful and ;hen with the influ- n at that gh ascen-" oled our- ast, could r, enjoy a injunction liberty to ^f;. " Though subsequent events have tranquillized this interest in the fortunes of La Fayette, we must become recreant to our principles, before it can become extinct. It is now forty years since he was last among us ; but scarcely an Ameri- can can enter France without paying the homage of a visit to La Grange. Our admiration of his disinterestedness, of liis sacrifices, and of his con sistency, is just as strong as ever; and. I confess, I anticipate that the country will ret ivc 'lim in such a manner as shall prove this at* chi nt to the world. But, you are not to e.^.e:t, in our people, manifestations of joy similar to those you have witnessed in Europe. We arc .v ither clam- orous nor exaggerated, in the exhibitions of our feelings. The prevailing character of the nation is that of moderation. Still am I persuaded that, in the case of La Fayette, some of our self- restraint will give way before the force of affection. We consider ourselves as the guardians of his fame. They who live a century hence, may live to know how high a superstructure of renown can be reared, when it is based on the broad founda- tions of the gratitude of a people like our own. The decision of common sense to-day, will become the decision of posterity." Cadwallader spoke with an earnestness that, at least, attested the sincerity of his own feelings. I may have given to his language the stiffness of a written essay, but I am certain of having pre- i iiC'- "■'*1 i If r>4 PREJUDICES AGAINST HIM IN EUROPE. served all the ideas, and even most of the words. The humid eyes of the fair Isabel responded to all he uttered, and even our Whitehallers bent to their oars, and listened with charmed ears. — Adieu. TO THE BARON VON KEMPERFELT. New York, I CLOSED my last with the sentiments of my American friend, on the subject of La Fayette. I confess that the time was, when my feelings had not entirely escaped the prejudice which is so common among certain people in Europe, on the subject of the character of this distinguished indi- vidual. The French Revolution led to so many excesses, that, under a disgust of its abuses, the world has been a little too apt to confound per- sons, in judging of its characters and events. It is now time, however, to begin to consider, whether its sacrifices have been made without a sufficient object. If the consciousness of civil rights, and the general intelligence which are be- ginning to diffuse themselves throughout Christen- dom, are remembered, it will be generally ad- mitted, I believe, that France has not suffered in vain. If any man can be said to have foreseen, and to have hoped for these very results, on which the i PE. •■•I A BETTEIl lEELiyO GAIXING GHOUND. o5 words. k d to all \o their 1 ieu. r. of my ^ayette. ngs had ;h is so on the ed indi- 0 many ses, the |nd per- Ints. It nsider, jithout a 1 of civil are be- ihristen- illy ad- Fered in |jen, and lich the 1 kingdom, no less than the enlightened of all Europe, is beginning to felicitate itself, it really seems to me, it must be La Fayette. That he failed to stem the torrent of disorder, was the fault of the times, or, perhaps, the fault of those whose previous abuses had produced so terrible a re-action. It was fortunate for Napoleon him- self, that his destinies did not call him into the arena an hour sooner than they did. His life, or his proscripton would, otherwise, have probably been the consequence. The man who was so easily spoiled by prosperity, might readily have sunk under the extraordinary pressure of the first days of the Revolution. But, as it is my present object to write of America, we will waive all other matter. Had any of those ancient prejudices still ex- isted, I should have been churlish, indeed, not to have participated, in some degree, in the generous feelings of my companions. There was so much genuine, undisguised, and disinterested gratifica- tion expressed in the manners of them all, that it was impossible to distrust its sincerity. The welcome of every eye was more like the look with which friend meets friend, than the ordinary con- ventional and artificial greetings of communities. Not a soul of them all, with the exception of Cad- wallader, had ever seen their visiter, and yet the meanest individual of the party took a manifest pleasure in his visit. But it is time that I should 66 PROCESSION OF STEAM-BOATS. i'N show you that this feeling was not confined to the half dozen who were in my own boat. At the exclamation of ** there they come," from Cadwallader, my look had been directed to the inner bay, and in the direction of the still distant city. The aquatic procession I saw, was composed principally of steam-boats. They were steering towards the village of the Lazaretto, and their decks exhibited solid masses of human heads. In order to conceive the beauty of the sight, you are to recal the accessories described in my last letter, the loveliness of the day, and it is also necessary to understand something of the magnitude, appear- ance, and beauty of an American steam-boat. The latter are often nearly as large as frigates, are not painted, as commonly in Europe, a gloomy blac^i, but are of lively and pleasing colours, with- out being gaudy, and have frequently species of wooden canopies, that serve as additional decks, on which their passengers may walk. The largest of these boats, when crowded, will contain a thousand people. There was one, among the present collection, of great size, tha^ had been constructed to navigate the ocean, and which was provided with the usual masts and rigging of a ship. This vessel was manned by seamen of the public service, and was gaily decorated with a profusion of flags. Our boat reached the wharf of the Lazaretto, a few minutes after the procession. One of the largest of the vessels had stopped at i* M nfined " from to the iistant iposed teering I their Is. In 'ou are : letter, lessary .ppear- n-boat. •igates, doomy , with- cies of decks, argest itain a ng the 1 been ch was of a of the with a harf of essioii. iped at ENTRANCE INTO THE AMERICAN WOULD. 57 this place, lying with her side to the shore, while the others were whirling and sailing around the spot, giving an air of peculiar life and animation to the scene. Here I found myself, as it wercby acvw/? (k ma'Wy transferred at once from the monotony of a passage ship, into the bustle and activity of the American world. Probably not less than five thousand people were collected at this one spot, including all ages and every condition known to the society of the country. Though the whole seemed animated by a common sentiment of pleasure, I did not fail to observe an air of great and subdued sobriety in the countenances of almost all around me. As Cadwallader had the address to obtain our admission into the steam- boat that had come to land, and which was in- tended to receive La Fayette in person, 1 was brought into immediate contact with its occupants. Closer observation confirmed my more distant im- pressions. I found myself in the midst of an orderly, grave, well-dressed^ but certainly exulting crowd. It was plain to see that all orders of men (with a few females) were here assembled, unless I might except that very inferior class which I a ready begin to think is not as usually to be found in this country as in most others. I heard French spoken, and by the quick, restless eyes, and elevated heads of some half dozen, I could see that France had her representatives in the throng, and that they deemed the occasion one in which they Pi ■I; II IffiiU \ 58 EXULTATION OF THE FRENCH. had no reason to blush for their country. Indeed I can scarcely imagine a spectacle more gratifying to a Frenchman, than the sight that was here ex- hibited. The multitude was assembled to do honour to an individual of their own country, for services that he had rendered to a whole people. The homage he received was not of a nature to be distrusted. It was as spontaneous as had been the benefits it was intended in some manner to requite ; it was of a nature, both in its cause and its effects, to do credit to the best feelings of man ; but it was also of a nature to contribute to the just and personal pride of the countrymen of him who was its object. We had no sooner secured a proper situation for the little Isabel, than I disposed myself to make remarks still more minute on the assem- blage. Cadwallader kept near me, and, though big with the feelings of home and country, his ear was not deaf to my inquiries and demands for ex- planation. The first question was to ascertain the present residence of the " General," as I found he was universally called, as it were par excellence. They pointed out a modest dwelling, embov/ered in trees, which might claim to be something be- tween an unpretending villa and a large farm- house. It was the residence of the Vice President of the United States. This individual was born in a condition of mediocrity, — had received the ordi- nary, imperfect, classical education of the country. 1* ■"'If VICE PRESIDENT. 59 A ^ 1 1 and had risen, by popular favour, to the station of Governor of this, his native, state. Quite as much by the importance of that state, as by the weight of his own character, (which is very di^erently estimated by different people,) he has been chosen to fill his present situation ; an office which, while it certainly makes him the legal successor of the President, in case of death, resignation, or dis- ability, is not considered, in itself, one of very high importance, since its sole duties are limited to the chair of the senate, without a seat in the cabinet. There has been no recent instance of a Vice President succeeding to the Presidency ; and I can easily see, the office is deemed, among poli- ticians, what the English seamen call a '* yellow flag." The pv: sent incumbent is said to be re- duced in his private resources, (the fate of most public men, here as elsewhere, where corruption is not exceedingly bare-faced,) and is compelled to make the dwelling named his principal, if not his only, residence. Here La Fayette had passed the day after his arrival, the sabbath, which it would seem is never devoted by the Americans to any public ceremonies except those of religion. Cadwallader pointed out to ma, among the crowd, several individuals who had filled respect- able military rank in the war of the Revolution. Three or four of them were men of fine presence, and of great gravity and dignity of mien : others had less pretension ; but all appeared to possess, at \>" ♦if Cj i • ft;!, I ' li IF *;-ay t 60 APPROACH OF LA FAYETTE. that moment, a common feeling. There was one in particular, who appeared an object of so much attention and respect, that I was induced to in- quire his history. He had been an officer of a rank no higher than colonel — (few of the gene- rals of that period are now living ;) — but it seems he had obtained a name among his countrymen for political firmness and great personal daring. He, however, appeared a good deal indebted for his present distinction to his great age, which could not be much less than ninety. Cadwallader then pointed to a still firm, upright veteran of near eighty, who had left the army of the Revolu- tion a general, and who had already travelled forty miles that morning to welcome La Fayette. Others in the crowd were more or less worthy of attention ; but the principal object of interest soon mad^ his appearance, and drew all eyes to himself. The General approached the boat escorted by a Committee of the City Authorities, and attended by the Vice President. The latter, a man of rather pleasing exterior, took leave of him on the wharf. La Fayette entered the vessel amid a deep and respectful silence. A similar reception of a public man, in Europe, would have been ominous of a waning popularity. Not an excla- mation, not even a greeting of any sort, was audible. A lane was opened through a mass of bodies that was nearly solid, and the visiter ad- HIS RECEPTION. Gl vanced slowly along the deck towards the stern. The expression of his countenance, though gra- tified and affectionate, seemed bewildered. His eye, remarkable for its fire, even in the decline of life, appeared to seek in vain the features of his ancient friends. To most of those whom he passed, his form must have worn the air of some image drawn from the pages of history. Half a century had carried nearly all of his contemporary actors of the Revolution into the great abyss of time, and he now stood like an imposing column that had been reared to commemorate deeds and principles that a whole people had been taught to reverence. La Fayette moved slowly through the multi- tude, walking with a little difficulty from a personal infirmity. On every side of him his anxious gaze still sought some remembered face ; but, though all bowed, and, with a deep sentiment of respect and affection, each seemed to watch his laboured footstep, no one advanced to greet him. The crowd opened in his front by a sort of secret im- pulse, until he had gained the extremity of the boat, where, last in the throng, stood the grey- headed and tottering veteran 1 have mentioned. By common consent his countrymen had paid this tribute to his services and his age. The honour of receiving the first embrace was his. I should fail in power were I to attempt a description equal to the effect produced by this scene. The old man -'(>■., ■ "^ ■m ?! TW i ' ^ t i ■ '<:.»■ 62 MOVEMENT TOWARDS THE TOWN. extcadcd his arms, and, as La Fayette heard >iis name, he flew into them like one who was glid to seek any relief from the feelings by which he was oppressed. They were long silently folded in each others arms. I know not, nor do I care, whether there were any present more stoical than myself: to me, this sight, simple and devoid of pageantry, was touching and grand. Its very nakedness heightened the effect. There was no laboured address, no ready answer, no drilling of the feelings in looks or speeches, nor any mer- cenary cries to drown the senses in noise. Nature was trusted to, and well did she perform her part. I saw all around me paying a silent trjbate to her power. T do not envy the man who could have witnessed such a scene unmoved. Greetings now succeeded greetings, until not only all the aged warriors, but most of the indivi- duals in the boat, had been permitted to welcome their guest. In the meii?tw> ile the vessel had left the land, unheeded, and, by the time recollection had returned, I found myself in an entirely new situation. The whole of the aquatic procession was in motion towards the town, and a gayer or a more animated cortege can scarcely be imagined. The deep, quiet sentiment which attended the first reception, had found relief, and joy was exhibiting itself under some of its more ordinary aspects. The Castle of La Fayette (for so is the for- h-ess in the miist of the water called,) was M' 0 MANNER OF APPROACH. 63 sending the thunder of its heavy artillery in our wake ; while several light vessels of war (the steam-ship included,) were answering it in feeble, but not less hearty, echoes. The yards of the latter were strung with seamen, and occasionally she swept grandly along our side, rending the air with the welcome peculiar to your element. There was literally a maze of steam-boats. Our own, as containing the object of the common interest, was permitted to keep steadily on her way, quickening or relaxing her speed, to accommodate her motion to that of those in company, but scarce a minute passed that some one of this brilliant corthge was not sweeping along one or the other of our sides, bearing a living burthen, which, as it was animated by one spirit, seemed to possess but one eye, and one subject to gaze at. It was some little time before I could sufficiently extricate my thoughts from the pleas ing confusion of such a spectacle, to examine the appearance of the bay, and of the town, which soon became distinctly visible. Though ae distance exceeded two leagues, our passage seemingly occupied but a very few minutes. Before us the boats began to thicken on the water, though the calmness of the day-, and the speec. with which we moved, probably prevented our being followed by animmense train of lighter craft. Two of the steam- vessels, however, had taken the Cadmus in tow, and were bearing her in triumph tov. irds the city. '■ X. w r:;a 64 ARllIVAL AT NEW VORK. I had almost forgotten to say, that in passing this ship, which had been anchored off the Lazaretto, the son and secretary of La Fayette joined us, and received the sort of reception you can readily imagine. We then passed a few fortified islands, which spoke to us in their artillery, and soon found ourselves within musket shot of the town. At the confluence of the Hudson (which is here a mile in width), and the arm of the sea already mentioned, the city is narrowed nearly to a point. The natural formation of the land, however, has been changed to a fine sweep, which is walled against the breaches of the water, while trees have been planted, and walks have been laid out, on the open space which lies between the houses and the bay. This promenade was once occupied by the prin- cipal fortification of the colonial town, from which circumstance it has obtained the name of the ** Battery." On a small, artificial island, at the more immediate junction of the two tides, stands a large circular work, of one tier of guns, which was once known as '' Castle Clinton." It has been abandoned, however, as a military post, and having become the property of the city, it is now oocupied as a place of refreshment and amusement for the inliabitants, under the mongrel appellation of " Castle Garden." There is no garden, unless the area of the work can be called one ; but it seems ihat as the city abounds with small public gardens, which are appropriated to the same uses M 1 i ■^!Si#' CASTLE GARDEN — n ATT F.UV. 05 as this rejected castle, it has been thought proper, in this instance, to supply the space which is else- where found so agreeable, by a name at least. This place had been chosen for the spot at which La Fayette was to land. The ramparts of the castle, which have been altered to a noble belvedere, a terrace at the base of the work, and the whole of the fine sweep of the battery, a distance of more than a quarter of a mile, were teeming with human countenances. A long glittering line of the military was visible in the midst of the multitude, and every thing denoted an intention to give the visiter a noble welcome. The reception I had already wit- nessed was evidently only a prelude to a still more imposing spectacle ; the whole population of the place having poured out to this spot, and standing in readiness to greet their guest. To my eye, there seemed, at least, a hundred thousand souls. Our approach to the shore was now positively im- peded by the boats, and La Fayette left us in a barge, which was sent to receive him from the land. What passed about his person, in the fol- lowing scene, I am unable to say ; but I saw the rocking of the multitude as he moved among them, and heard the shouts which, fvom time to time, escaped a people whose manners are habitually so self-restrained. It was easy to note his move- ments in the distance, for, wherever he appeared, thither the tide of human beings set; but op- pressed with the novelty of my situation, and I 4i li.?:'fi V(H.. I. 66 THE LH rr.E Isabel. anxious to liberate my thoughts from the whirl of so constant an excitement, I was glad to hear Cadwallader proj)o.se our seeking an hotel. We left the little Isabel at the door of her father ; and after being present at a meeting between a nation and its guest, I had the pleasure to see the fair girl throw herself, weeping, but happy, into the arms of those who formed her domestic w^orld. Still, ingenuous and affectionate as this young- creature is, she scarcely appeared to think of hame, until her foot was on the threshold of her father's house. Then, indeed, La Fayette was for a time forgotten, and nature was awakened in all its best and sweetest sympathies. Our pecu- liar propensities, my worthy Baron, may have left us with lighter loads to journey through the vale of life ; but 1 hope it is no treason to the principles of the club, sometimes to entertain a moderate degree of doubt on the score of their wisdom. Our lodgings are at a house that is called the City Hotel. It is a tavern on a grand scale, possessing the double character of an European and an Ame- rican house. We have taken up our abode in the former side, the latter, in the true meaning of the word, being a little too gregarious, for the humour of even my companion. In order that you may understand this distinction, it is necessary that I should explain. I shall do it on the authority of Cadwallader. ^;S Iftt TIIK CITV HOTEL. G7 liirl of hear We ' ; and nation iie fair tto the world, young- ink, of of her e was ined in pecu- f have s^h the to the rtain a f their leCity essing 1 Ame- in the of the uraour lu may y that tliority if I ■.K Most of the travelling in America is done cither in steam-boats, which abound, or in the public coaches. This custom has induced the habit of living in common, which prevails, in a greater or less degree, from one extremity of the Re- public, or, as it is called here, ** the Union," to the other. Those, however, who choose to live separately, can do so, by incurring a small additional charge. In this house, the number of inmates must, at this moment, greatly exceed a hundred. By far the greater part occupy nothing more than bed-rooms, assembling at stated hours at a table d' lidtc for their meals, of which there are four in the day. In some few instances more than one bed is in a room, but it is not the usual arrange- ment of the house ; the whole of which I have visited, from its garrets to its kitchens. I find the building extensive ; quite equal to a first rate European hotel in size, excelling the latter in some conveniences, and inferior to it in others. It is clean from top to bottom ; carpeted in almost every room ; a custom the Americans have bor- rowed from the English, and which, in this latitude, in the month of August, might be changed for something more comfortable. Our own accommodations are excellent. Thev com- prise our bed-rooms, which are lofty, airy, and convenient, and a salon, that would be esteemed handsome even in Paris. We also might have our four meals, and at our own hours : dining, F 2 ■\ -'i ■\. m m m :rs6 I 68 EXPENCF.S, ACCOMMODATIONS, ETC. however, at six o'clock, we dispense with the supper. The master of the house is a respectable, and an exceedingly well-behaved and obliging man, who, of course, allows each of his guests, except those who voluntarily choose to live at his tabic if hhtc^ to adopt his own hours, without a murmur, or even a discontented look. I believe we might dine at midnight, if we would, without exciting his surprise. Cadwallader tells me the customs, in this respect, vary exceedingly in America ; that dinner is eaten between the hours of two and six, by people in genteel life, though rarely later than the latter hour, and not often so late. The talk d' hotc in this house is served at three. The charges are far from dear, where we are established, though it is one of the most expensive taverns in the country. The price for the rooms sounded a little high at first ; but when we took into view the style of the accommodation, the excessive abundance, as well as the quality of our food, and the liberality with which lights, &c. &c., were furnished, we found them much lower than what the same articles could be got for in Paris, and vastly lower than in London, or even in Liverpool. But of all these things 1 intend to give someone of you (I think it must be the colonel, who unites, to so remarkable a degree, the love of his art with the love of good cheer) a more de- tailed account at some future day. 4 n f i 'I -U m 1 the table, liging uests, ive at lOut a »elieve ithout le the Tly in hours ;hough ften so •ved at we are )ensive rooms e took n, the of our c. &c., r than Paris, ven in end to olonel, love of re de- >t^ M ■I I.A FAYKTTK. G9 f had almost forgotten to say, that La Fayette is lodged in the same house with ourselves. He is literally overwhelmed with kindness and ho- nours. Pleasing as we find the circumstance in itself, I fear it will oblige us to seek a dift< rent abode, since there is a throng incessantly at the door ; well dressed and orderly, it is true, but still a throng. The very boys are eager to shake his hand, and thousands of bright eyes are turned towards the windows of our hotel to catch fleeting glimpses of his person. His stay here is, however, limited to a short period, an old engagement calling him to Boston, which, during the war of the Revolution, was a place of more importance than even this great commercial town. Adieu. TO SIR EDWARD WALLER, BART. New York' * In consequence of this temporary separation from Cadwallader, I was left for a few days, the master of my own movements. I determined to employ them in a rapid excursion through a part of the eastern states of this great confederation, in * The coinmencemeiit of this, and of many of the succeeding letters, are omitted, since they contain matter already known to the reader. f ;t; -Mm IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) K^ ' %^ 1.0 I.I 1.25 ■ JO ^^" ■■■ u,|2i2 |22 i:& 12.0 us Im! 141 V y /^ Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WBT MAIN STReiT WiBSTIR.N.Y. 14SM (716) S72-4S03 70 ROUTE THROUGH PART OF NEW ENCJLAND. ii; r mm order to obtain a coup deceit of a portion of the interior. It would have been the most obvious, and perhaps the most pleasing route, to have followed the coast as far as Boston ; but this would have brought me in the train of La Fayette, where the natural aspect of society was disturbed by the universal joy and excitement produced by his reception. I chose, therefore, a direction farther from the water, through the centre of Connecticut, entering Massachusetts by its southern border, and traversing that state to Vermont. After look- ing a little at the latter, and New Hampshire, I returned through the heart of Massachusetts to Rhode Island, re-entering and quitting Connec- ticut at new points, and regaining this city through the adjacent county of Westchester. The whole excursion has exceeded a thousand miles, though the distance from New York has at no time been equal to three hundred. By naming some of the principal towns through which I passed, you will be able to trace the route on a map, and may better understand the little I have to commu- nicate. I entered Connecticut near Danbury, and left it at Suffield, having passed a night in Hart- ford, one of its two capital towns. The river was followed in crossing Massachusetts, and my journey in Vermont terminated at Windsor. I then crossed the Connecticut (river) into New Hampshire, to Concord, and turning south, re- entered Massachusetts, proceeding to Worcester. ■u t I CHAUACTKH OI- THE COl'NTKY VISITtD. 71 The journey from this point back to New York, was a little circuitous, embracing Providence and Newport, (in Rhode Island), and New London, New Haven and Fairfield, in Connecticut. As experience had long since shown me that the people on all great, and much frequented, roads, acquire a species of conventional and arti- ficial character, I determined, if possible, to pene- trate at once into that part of the country within my reach, which might be supposed to be the least sophisticated, and which, of course, would afford the truest specimen of the national character. Cad- wallader has examined my track, and he tells me I have visited the very portion of New England, which is the best adapted to such an object. I saw no great town during my absence, and if I travelled much of the time amid secluded and peaceful husbandmen, I occasionally touched at points where all was alive with the bustle and activity of commerce and manufactures. A review of the impressions left by this short excursion has convinced me of the diflftculty of con- veying to an European, by the pen, any accurate, general impression,of even the external appearance of this country. What is so true of one part, is so false of the others, and descriptions of sensible things which were exact a short time since, become so very soon erroneous through changes, that one should hesitate to assume the responsi- bility of making them. Still, such as they are, ■t; 1 ■ T 72 EXPLANATION OF THE TERM YANKEE. mine are at your service. In order, however, to estimate their value, some little preliminary ex- planation may be necessary. The SIX eastern states of this union comprise what is called New England. Their inhabitants are known here by the familiar appellation of * Yankees.' This word is most commonly sup- posed to be a corruption of ' Yengeese,' the manner in which the native tribes, first known to the colonists, pronounced * English.* Some, however, deny this derivation, at the same time that they confess their inability to produce a plausible substitute. It is a little singular that the origin of a soubriquet, which is in such general use, and which cannot be of any very long ex- istence, should already be a matter of doubt. It is said to have been used by the English as a term of contempt, when the American was a colonist, and it is also said, that the latter often adopts it as an indirect and playful means of retaliation. It is necessary to remember one material distinction in its use, which is infallibly made by every American. At home, the native of even New York, though of English origin, will tell you he is not a Yankee. The term here, is supposed to be perfectly provincial in its application ; being, as I have said, confined to the inhabitants, or rather the natives of New England. But, out of the United States, even the Georgian does not hesitate to call himself a * Yankee.' The Americans are particu- i: 'I PRIDE IN THE APPELLATION'. 73 lady fond of distinguishing any thing connected with their general enterprise, skill, or reputation, by this term. Thus, the southern planter, who is probably more averse than any other to admit a community of those personal qualities, which are thought to mark the differences in provincial or rather state character, will talk of what a * Yankee merchant,' a * Yankee negociator,' or a * Yankee soldier,' can and has done ; meaning always the people of the United States. I have heard a naval officer of rank, who was born south of the Potomac, and whose vessel has just been constructed in this port, speak of the latter with a sort of suppressed pride, as a * Yankee man-of-war.' Now, I had overheard the same individual allude to another in a manner that appeared reproachful, and in which he used the word * Yankee,' with peculiar em- phasis. Thus it is apparent, that the term has two significations among the Americans themselves, one of which may be called its national, and the other its local meaning. The New-Englandman evidently exults in the appellation at all times. Those of the other states with whom I have come in contact, are manifestly quite as well pleased to lay no claim to the title, though all use it freely, in its foreign, or national sense. I think it would result from these facts, that the people of New England are thought, by the rest of their country- men, to possess some minor points of character, in which the latter do not care to partici[)ate, and of \ \'^ 1 1 I 74 GRKAT HARMONY BETWEKNTHK PEOPLE. which the New Englandman is unconscious, or in which, perhaps, he deems himself fortunate, while, on the other hand, the^ possess certain other and more important qualities, which are admitted to be creditable to the whole nation. Cadwallader, who is a native of New York, smiled when I pro- posed this theory, but desired me to have a little patience until I had bsen able to judge for myself. After all, there is little or no feeling excited on the subject, The inhabitants of states, living a thousand miles asunder, speak of each other with more kindness, in common, than the inhabitants of adjoining counties in England, or provinces in France. Indeed, the candour and manliness with which the northern man generally admits the acknowledged superiority of his southern country- man, on certain points, and vice versa, is matter of surprise to me, who, as you know, have wit- nessed so much illiberality on similar subjects, among the natives of half the countries of Europe. New England embraces an area of between sixty and seventy thousand square miles. Thus, you see, it is larger in extent than England and Wales united. It has about seven hundred miles of sea coast, and contains a population of something less than 1,800,000. This would give about twenty-seven to the square mile. But in order to arrive at an accurate idea of the populousness of the inhabited parts of the country, it is necessary to exclude from the calculation, that part of it which p* llAit OF POPULATION TO TMK SQUAUK M I IJO. 75 is not peopled. We should then reject a very large portion of Maine, and a good deal of land in the northern parts of Vermont and New Hampshire, including, perhaps, twenty thousand square miles. This estimate would leave forty inhabitants to the square mile. But we will confine ourselves to Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island ; neither of which, for America, has an unusual quantity of vacant land. Their sur- face embraces about 14,000 square miles. The population is not quite a million. This will give an average of a little less than seventy to the square mile. Here, then, we have what may be con- sidered the maximum of the density of American population on any very extended surface. There is a fair proportion of town and country, and a more equal distribution of the labour of society, between commerce, manufactures, and agricul- ture, than perhaps in any other section of the Union. You are not, however, to suppose that this amount of population is confined to these three states. A great deal of New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, and certain districts in many other states, have attained, or even exceed, this ratio. Thus the highest comparative rate of population in this country, estimating it in districts of any considerable extent, is a little less than that of the whole kingdom of Denmark, and very mate- rially exceeding that of Spain. Still you will scarcely be able to obtain a just .ji II 1 t ] ^ '; j ■ i '■■ I 1 ii'i 1 1* { i Mi ■ ' 70 DECEPTIVE APPEARANCE, OF POPULATION. idea of the outward appearance of New England from a knowledge of these facts. You must have often observed, in travelling through the most populous countries of Europe, how few of their people are seen. France, for instance, only shows the millions with which she is teeming, in her cities and villages. Nor are you struck with the populousness of even the latter, unless you hap- pen to enter them on f&tes, or have an opportunity of examining them in the evening, after the la- bourers have returned from the fields. This is, more, or less, true with every other country in Europe. Even in England, one does not see much of the population out of the towns, unless at fairs, or merry-makings. Now I do not remem- ber to have ever travelled so far thr ; ' any c ^^ntry which appeared more populous ..an the J rts of New England describtd.* This peculi- arity may be ascribed to several causes. The whole country is subdivided into small freeholds, which are commonly tilled by their owners. The average size of these estates is probably less than a hundred acres. Each, as a general rule, has its house and out-houses. These buildings are usually very near the public roads, and consequently in plain view of the traveller. The field labour is also commonly done at no great distance from the highway. In addition to these reasons, the Americans are thought to perforn * Part of the North of Italy may, perhaps, be excepted. IlEASONS FOU Tins ArPF-AUANCK. 77 more journeys, and, consequently, to be more before the eye of their visiters than common. Cad- wallader accounts for the latter circumstance in various w^ays. The greatness of the intermediate distances is the chief of his reasons. But the mental activity of the people, together with the absence of want, are thought to have a propor- tionate effect. I hear wonders of the throngs that are seen, at certain seasons, on the avenues which lead from the interior to any of the great markets. My companion assures me he once counted eight hundred waggons in the dis- tance of forty miles, most of which were convey- ing wheat to the city of Albany. On the same road there were sixty taverns in a distance of as many miles ; a sufficient proof in itself of the amount of travelling. Now, all this does not at all comport with our vague European notions of America. We are apt to imagine it a thinly populated, wooded, and fertile, though little cultivated region. Thinly po- pulated it assuredly is, when the whole number of its square miles is compared to the whole amount of its population. But from what I have seen and heard, I feel persuaded, that an American, who understood his ground, might conduct a stranger, who knew nothing of the true numbers of the country, over a territory which shall greatly exceed France in extent, and leave the impression on the mind of his guest, that it was more popu- ■^Tl\ii ! ■>. |) -r! 78 APPF, AHA \CF. OF COrX'TllV. lous than the latter kingdom. In hazarding this opinion, however, I except the effect of the great towns, and of the villages on fi^te days and at even- ings. In continental Europe the traveller often feels a sense of loneliness, though surrounded by millions of human beings. He sees no houses out of the villages ; he meets few on the highways ; even the field labourers are half the time removed from sight, and when he enters a wood, it is usu- ally a tenantless forest. In the parts of America I have as yet visited, the very reverse is the case. Unless in particular instances, houses occurred at very short intervals ; the highways were not thronged as described by Cadwallader, it is true, but I saw more travellers than is usual in the season of harvest ; and I scarcely recollect the moment when my eye could not discover groups of field labourers. Of wood there was certainly plenty ; but of forests, with the exception of now and then a mountain, scarcely any. At the latter fact, no less than at the air of populousness which distinguishes this portion of the country, I have been greatly surprised. I passed several comparatively barren tracts which were suffered to sustain what wood they might, and 1 saw ridges of uneven, broken land, that probably still lay in their native shades ; but the character of the whole district was that of a succession of fields, sprinkled with houses, and embellished with little groves, that were reserved for the domestic supply of MOOD — FEUTIMTY OF SPOTS, F.TC. 71) their respective owners, hideed, in some quar- ters, there actually appeared less wood than was necessary, when it is remembered the inhabitants use little other fuel, and how expensive the trans- portation of an article so heavy soon becomes. I should not describe New England as a par- ticularly fertile region. A large proportion of its surface, at least of the part I saw, was rugged and difficult of tillage, though but little of it was positively sterile. It is rather a grazing, than a grain country. For the former, it is well adapted ; the land apparently producing rich and sweet grasses in almost every quarter. There were, however, large districts of deep alK vial soil, where any plant that will thrive in this climate might be successfully grown. I scarcely remem- ber so beautiful a country, or a more fertile look- ing one, than some of that I passed along the bor- ders of the Connecticut. The river bottoms were loaded with their products, and the adjacent swells were every where crowned with evidences of the abundance they had lavished on their pos- sessors, in the shape of well- stored barns and spacious and comfortable dwellings. In this ex- cursion I first saw extensive and luxuriant fields of that favourite American plant — the maize. It is deemed an infallible test of the quality of the soil, no less than of the climate, throughout most of the Union. Where maize will not grow, the husbandman is reluctant to dwell. It furnishes a If II .^^1 m 1 ¥ 80 AfAlZK — \F.W ].:\Gr,AND VILLAGE.^. I ■ healthful nourishment for man and beast, nor is there any useful animal that will not thrive upon its food. I do not think I passed a solitary farm that had not more or less maize in cultivation. It is universally called *' corn* par cicetlence. As it is indigenous to the country, sometimes the word Indian is prefixed. But when an American says ** corn," he invariably means ** maize." It is a splendid plant as it grows in this country, sur- passing in appearance any other that appertains to husbandry. It is said to be still finer and more luxuriant to the south, but to me^ there was great pleasure, as I saw it here, in gazing at its broad, gracefully curving, dark green blades, as they waved in the wind. It was in the tassel, and its ordinary height could not be much less than eight feet. Many fields must have exceeded this growth. New England may justly glory in its villages ! Notwithstanding the number of detached houses that are every where seen, villages are far from unfrequent, and often contain a population of some two or three thousand. In space, fresh- ness, an air of neatness and of comfort, they far exceed any thing I have ever seen, even in the mother country. With now and then an excep- tion of some one among them that possesses a more crowded, commercial, or manufacturing population, than common, they all partake of the same character. I have passed, in one day, six W N Alt' lit; 01 TIIK SI i:\tuv. 81 or seven of these beautiful, tranquil and enviable looking hamletSj lor not one of which have I been able to recollect an equal in the course of all my European travelling. They tell me, here, that villages, or small towns, abound in the newer portions of the northern and western states, that even eclipse those of Nev England, since they unite, to all the neatness and space of the latter, the improvements of a still more modern jorigin. In order to bring to your mind's eye a sketch of New England scenery, you are to draw upon your imagination for the following objects. Fancy yourself on some elevation that will command the view of a horizon that embraces a dozen miles. The country within this boundary must be undu- lating, rising in bold swells, or occasionally exhi- biting a broken, if not a ragged surface. But these inequalities must be counterbalanced by broad and rich swales of land, that frequently spread out into lovely little vallies. If there be a continued range of precipitous heights in view, let it be clad in the verdure of the forest. If not, wood must be scattered in profusion over the landscape, in leafy shadows that cover surfaces of twenty and thirty acres. Buildings, many white, relieved by "Venetian blinds in green, some of the dun colour of time, and others of a dusky red, must be seen standing amid orchards, and marking, by their positions, the courses of the numberless highways. Here and there, a spire, or often two, 1! VOL. I. C fft^lll pr E ii^ Hil n *f* PI li' - ir 1i ■ '-■ i|fMf 82 A NEW ENGLAND LANDSCAPE. may be seen pointing towards the skies from the centre of a cluster of roofs. Perhaps a line of blue mountains is to be traced in the distance, or the course of a river to be followed by a long succession of fertile meadows. The whole country is to be subdivided by low stone walls, or wooden fences, made in various fashions, the quality of each improving, or deteriorating, as you approach, or recede from the dwelling of the owner of the soil. Cattle are to be seen grazing in the fields, or ruminating beneath the branches of single trees, that are left for shade in every pasture, and flocks are to be seen clipping the closer herbage of the hill sides. In the midst of this picture must man be placed, quiet, orderly, and industrious. By limiting this rural picture to greater, or less ex- tensive, scenes of similar quiet and abundance, or occasionally swelling it out, until a succession of villages, a wider range of hills, and some broad valley, through which a third rate Ame- rican river winds its way to the ocean, are in- cluded, jour imagination can embrace almost every variety of landscape I beheld in the course of my journey. Concerning the character of the people, you cannot expect me to write very profoundly on so short an acquaintance. In order, however, that you may know how to estimate the value of the opinions I shall venture to give, it is necessary that you should learn the circumstances under -^ 1 r INTERCOUUSE WITH THE PEOPLE. 83 which they have been formed. Before parting from Cadwallader, I requested he would give me some brief written directions, not only of the route I was to pursue, but of the manner in which I was to regulate my intercourse with the people. I extract the substance of his reply, omitting the line of route he advised, which is already known to you. " As respects intercourse with the inhabitants, your path is perfectly plain. You speak the lan- guage with what we call the intonation of an Englishman. In America, while there are pro- vincial, or state peculiarities, in tone, and even in the pronunciation and use of certain words, there is no patois. An American may distinguish be- tween the Georgian and the New Englandman, but you cannot. In this particular our ears are very accurate, and while we can, and do pass for natives every day in England, it is next to im- possible for an Englishman to escape detection in America. Five out of six of the whole English nation, let them be educated ever so much, re- tain something of the peculiarity of their native county. The exceptions are much fewer than they suppose themselves, and are chiefly in the very highest circles. But there is also a slang of society in England, which forms no part of the true language. Most of those who escape the patois, adopt something of the slang of the day. There is also a fashion of intonation in the mother G 2 in 84 ENCiLISH TUAVELLERS. country which it is often thought vulgar to omit. All these differences, with many others, which it may be curious to notice hereafter, mark the Englishman at once. I think, therefore, you will be mistaken for a native of some of the less accurate counties of England. It will, in conse- quence, be necessary for you to be more on your guard against offence than if you were thought a German, or a Frenchman. The reasons for this caution are perfectly obvious. It is not because the American is more disposed to seek grounds of complaint against his English visiter, but because he has been more accustomed to find them." " All young travellers are, as a matter of course, grumblers ; but an Englishman is proverbially the grumbler.. It is generally enough for him, that he meets an usage different from that to which he has been accustomed, to condemn it. It is positively true, that an intelligent and highly talented individual of that country, once com- plained to me, that in the month of January the days were so much shorter in New York than in London!* His native propensity had blinded him to the material fact, that the former city was in 41°, while the latter lay 10° higher. Now, * This mistake is not, in truth, as absurd as if first seems. The twilight, in high latitudes, serves to eke out the day, so as greatly to subtract from the amount of total darkness. Had the gentleman in question chosen any other part of England than London, he might have found some pretext for his opinion. HOW SITUATED IN AMERICA . 85 the Englishman may grumble any where else with more impunity than in America. In France, in Germany, or in Italy, he is not often understood, and half the time, a Frenchman, in particular, is disposed to think his country is receiving com- pliments, instead of anathemas. But with an American, there can of course be no such mis- take. He not only understands the sneer, but he knows whence it comes. Though far from ob- trusive on such occasions, it is not rare for the offended party to retort, whenever the case will admit of his interference. The consequence has been, that, as a class, the English travellers now behave themselves better in America than in any other country. But a character has been gained, and it will require a good deal of time to eradicate it. The servant of the respectable Mr. Hodgson tells his master that the people of the inns " are surprised to find Englishmen behave so well." But after all, with a great deal that is not only absurd, but offensive, there is something that may be ex- cused in the discontent of an Englishman, when travelling in a foreign country. The wealth of an immense empire has centered at home, in a com- paratively diminutive kingdom, and he who can command a tolerable proportion of that wealth may purchase a degree of comfort that is certainly not to be obtained out of it. But comfort is not the only consequence of those broad distinctions between the very rich, and the very poor. It is tl; it?! 86 NEW ENGLAND INN-KEEPERS. saying nothing new, to say that the lower orders of the English, more particularly those who are brought in immediate contact with the rich, ex- ceed all other Christians in abject servility to their superiors. It may be new, but in reflecting on the causes, you will perceive it is not sur- prising, that on the contrary, the common Ame- rican should be more natural, and less reserved in his communications with men above him in the scale of society, than the peasant of Europe. While the English traveller, therefore, is more exacting, the American labourer is less disposed to be sub- missive than usual. But every attention within the bounds of reason will be shewn you, though it is not thought in reason, in New England espe- cially, that one man should assume a tone of con- firmed superiority over the rest of mankind, merely because he wears abetter coat, or has more money in his purse. Notwithstanding this stub- born temper of independence, no man better understands the obligations between him who pays, and him who receives, than the nativ*^ of New England. The inn-keeper of Old England, and the inn-keeper of New England, form the very extremes of their class. The one is obsequious to the rich, the other unmoved, and often appa- rently cold. The first seems to calculate, at a glance, the amount of profit you are likely to leave behind you ; while his opposite appears only to calculate in what manner he can most contribute IM HIS CHARACTER, SITUATION IN LIFE, ETC. to your comfort, without materially impairing his own. It is a mistake, however, that the latter is filled with a sense of his own imagi- nary importance. It troubles him as little as the subject does any other possessor of a certain established rank, since there is no one to dispute it. He is often a magistrate, the chief of a battalion of militia, or even a member of a state legislature. He is almost always a man of cha- racter ; for it is difficult for any other to obtain a license to exercise the calling. If he has the pride of conscious superiority, he is not wanting in its principles. He has often even more : he has frequently a peculiar pride in his profession. I have known a publican, who filled a high and responsible situation in the government of the first state of this confederation, officiously convey my baggage to a place of security, because he thought it was his duty to protect my property when under his roof. An English inn-keeper would not have impaired his domestic importance by such an act. He would have called upon John, the head-waiter, and John would have probably have bid Thomas Ostler, or Boots, to come to his assistance. In both cases, the work would be done, I grant you ; but under very dif- ferent feelings. I profess to no more knowledge of the boasted English inn-keeper, than what any one may gain, who has travelled among them, in every manner, from a seat on the top of a stage I t .Si- ■His .Ml ^i:' I .\' 1 t si 88 DIFIEIIENCE BETWEEN THE INN-KEEPERS. coach, to one in a post-chaise and four. But, with the publican of New England, I have a long and intimate acquaintance, and I fearlessly affirm, that he has been the subject of much and ground- less calumny.'' " If servility, an air of einpressement, and a mercenary interest in your comforts, form essen- tials to your happiness and self-complacency, England, with a full pocket, against the world. But, if you can be content to receive consistent civility, great kindness, and a tempered respect, in which he who serves you consults his own character no less than yours, and all at a cheap rate, you will travel not only in New England, but throughout most of the United States, with perfect satisfaction. God protect the wretch, whom poverty and disease shall attack in an Eng- lish inn ! Depend on it, their eulogies have been written by men who were unaccustomed to want. It is even a calamity to be obliged to have a sav- ing regard to the contents of your purse, under the observation of their mercenary legions ! There seems an intuitive ability in all that belongs to them, to graduate your wealth, your importance, and the extent of their own servility. Now, on the other hand, a certain reasoning distinction usu- ally controls the manner in which the American inn-keeper receives his guests. He pays greater attention to the gentleman than to the tin-pedlar, because he knows it is necessary to the habits of «ii FEELINGS WHICH COVEKN INTERCOURSE. 89 the former, and because he thinks it is no more than a just return for the greater price he pays. But he is civil, and even kind, to both alike. He sometimes makes blunders, it is true, for he meets with characters that are new to him, or is required to decide on distinctions of which he has no idea. A hale, well-looking, active, and intelligent Ameri- can, will scarcely ever submit his personal com- forts, or the hourly control of his movements, to the caprices of another, by becoming a domestic servant. Neither would the European, if he could do any thing better. It is not astonishing, there- fore, that a publican, in a retired quarter of the country, should sometimes be willing to think that the European servants he sees, are entitled to eat with their masters, or that he calls both ** gen le- men." A striking and national trait in the Ameri- can, is a constant and giVive regard to the feelings of others. It is even more peculiar to New Eng- gland, than to any other section of our country. It is the best and surest fruit of high civilization. Not that civilization which chisels marble and gilds salonSy but that which marks the progress of reason, and which, under certain circumstances, makes men polished, and, under all, renders them humane. In this particular, America is, beyond a doubt, the most civilized nation in the world, inasmuch as the aggregate of her humanity, intel- ligence and comfort, compared with her numbers, has nothing like an equal. ,'ifj r 1^ -. ! '< . i h' ' ! f ■ i 90 ADVICE TO TRAVELLERS. " From these facts, you may easily glean a know- ledge of the personal treatment you are likely to re- ceive in your approaching excursion. There will be an absence of many of those forms to which you have been accustomed, but their place will be sup- plied by a disinterested kindness, that it may re- quire time to understand, but which, once properly understood, can never be supplied by any meretri- cious substitute. T never knew an American of healthful feelings, who did not find more disgust than satisfaction, in the obsequiousness of the English domestics. For myself, I will avow that the servility, which I can readily understand may become so necessary by indulgence, gave me a pain that you will, perhaps, find it diflScult to comprehend. I do not say it may not be necessary in Europe, particularly in England, but I do say, thank God, it is not necessary here. " It will be prudent, at all times, to treat those who serve you with great attention to their feel- ings. An instance may serve as an example. A few years since, I was in a boat, on one of our in- terior waters, accompanied by a fine, gentleman- like, manly, aristocratic young Englishman. One of the boatmen incommoded us with his feet. • Go forward. Sir,' said my English companion, in a tone that would have answered better on the Thames, than on the Cayuga. The boatman looked a little surprised, and a good deal deter- mined. There was an evident struggle, between ANECDOTE. 1)1 his pride and his desirt, not to give offence to a stranger. * We have scarcely room here for our feet,' I observed ; ' if you will go forward, we shall be more comfortable.' ' Oh ! with all my heart, Sir,' returned the man, who complied with- out any further hesitation. The same individual, if left to his own suggestions, or not assailed in his pride, would probably have plunged into the lake for our pleasure, and that, to, without stopping to consider whether he was to get six- pence for his ducking. With this single caution, you may go from Maine to Georgia with perfect safety, and, most of the distance, with sufficient comfort; often with more even than in England, and, generally, at a price which, compared with what you receive, is infinitely below the cheapest rate of travelling in any part of Europe. It is a ludicrous mistake, that you must treat every American as your companion in society, but it is very necessary that he should be treated as your equal in the eye of God." I must leave you, for the moment, with this morceau from the pen of Cadwallader, who writes as he speaks, like a man who thinks better of his countrymen than we have been accustomed to believe they deserve. I must postpone, to my next, the commentaries that my own trifling ex- perience has suggested on his theory. — Adieu. ■i' *!j ■ i ' t I m. ■ ■; it ( 0'2 ) TO SIR EDWARD WALLER, BART. Sfc. Sfc. New York, Although stages, as the public coaches are, by corruption, called in this country, run on most of the roads travelled in my recent journey, I de- cided to make the excursion, at a little cost, in a private conveyance. A neat, light, and rather elegant pleasure-waggon on horizontal springs, with a driver and a pair of fleet, well-formed horses, were procured for five dollars a day. A coach might have been had for the same sum. This price, however, was the highest, and included every charge. There was ample room for Fritz and myself, with what baggage we needed, and a vacant seat by the side of the coachman. Ca- pacious leather tops protected us from the weather, and good aprons could, if necessary, cover our feet. In short, the vehicle, which is exceedingly common here, is not unlike what is called a double, or travelling, phaeton, in England. You are to remember, there is no travelling post in America. Relays of horses can certainly be had, between the principal towns, at a reasonably short notice ; but the great facility, rapidity, ease, and cheapness of communication by steam-boats, will ISLAND OF MANHATTAN'. 93 probably for a long time prevent posting from coming into fashion. We left Manhattan island, on which New York stands, by a long wooden bridge that connects it with the adjacent county of West-Chester. There is a singular air of desertion about that portion of this island which is not covered by the town, and which I was inclined to ascribe to a sort of com- mon expectation in its owners that the ground would be soon wanted for other purposes than plantations of trees, or pleasure grounds. It is said, however, that a delay in the regulation of the great avenues and future streets of the city, has produced the apparent neglect. Let the cause be what it may, I do not remember ever to have seen the immediate environs of so large a town in such a state of general abandonment. The island is studded with villas, certainly ; but even most of these seemed but little cared for. I did not, how- ever, get a view of those which lie on the two rivers.* I found West-Chester a constant succession of hills and dales, with numberless irregular little vallies, though with nothing that, in English, is called a mountain. The description I have given you, in my last letter, of the general appearance of New England, will answer perfectly well also for this portion of New York. The villages were nei- * Vast improvements have been made, in this part of the island, within the last three years. m i >«i ', " v>ffl 1)4 THEMAVXEU TIIF, HKJIIWAVS A HE MAINTAFNED. ( ? . thcr so beautiful, nor so numerous, as those I after- wards passed ; but in the character of the land, the situation and number of the farm-houses, the multitude of highways, the absence of forests, and the abundance of little groves, the two districts are precisely the same. As respects the great frequency of the public roads, the peculiarity is subject to a very simple explanation. You will remember the whole country is subdivided into the small freeholds mentioned, and that each citizen has a claim to have access to his farm. Each township, as parishes, or cantons, are here called, has the entire control of all the routes within its own limits, unless the road be the pro- perty of a chartered company. These highways are periodically worked by the inhabitants, agree- ably to a rate of assessment, '•iiich is regulated according to the personal means of each individual. Every thing of a public nature, that will readily admit of such an intervention, is, in this republi- can government, controlled by the people in their original character. Thus, all the officers of each town are annually elected, by its inhabitants, in what are called " the town-meetings." These officers comprise the assessors of taxes, their col- lectors, the overseers of the highways, &c. &c., and, in short, the whole of its police, with, perhaps, the exception of the magistrates, who receive their appointments from different sources. Now, it is evident, that when the power to construct and to iiif IlKASONS WHY TUF.Y AUE NOT ALWAYS DIUF.CT. 05 repair roads and bridges is removed, by so short an interval, from those who are most affected by their position and condition, that the public ser- vants, as the officers arc here emphatically called, must pay the utmost deference to the public will. The ordinary routes of the country are, therefore, arranged in such a manner as will most accom- modate those who work tliCm. But, as this arrange- ment must often produce conveniences that are more likely to satisfy individuals than the public, great routes that unite important points of the country, are often substituted for the local high- ways. These great routes are constructed on two plans. In cases where the convenience of the public requires it, laws are enacted for the pur- pose by the legislatures, and the route is made what is called a state-7'oad. In others, where it is believed capitalists may be induced to invest their money, charters are given, a rate of toll established, and the road becomes the property of a company. The latter are numerous in New England, nor are the charges at all high. It is evident that the labour of constructing the vast number of roads and bridges which are necessary to satisfy the public and private wants of a community that does not exceed the popula- tion of Prussia, throughout a country as large as half Europe, must be exceedingly burthensome. What I have already seen, however, has given me the most respectful opinion of the native energy of i ■Mm : |.|' !i •* i; if' If-' 1 1 i' iii i- - 1 Ik^ 96 ENTRANCE OF CONNECTICUT BORDKRS. this people ; but I shall not anticipate impres- sions, which may be increased, or, possibly, changed, as I " prick deeper into the bowels of the land." Thus far I can say, that no where, in- cluding great routes and cross-roads, have I found better highways than in New England, the mother country alone excepted. If the former are not so good as in England, the latter are, however, often better. Perhaps I travelled at a favourable time of the year ; but the bridges, the causeways, the diggings, and the levellings, must be there at all seasons. On the morning of the second day, my coach- man, while trotting leisurely along an excellent path, through a retired part of the country, pointed a-head with his whip, and told me we were about to enter the State of Connecticut. One hand was mechanically thrust into my pocket, in search of a passport, and a glance of the eye was thrown at the trunks, in order to recal the nature of the contraband articles they might happen to contain. A moment of thought recalled me to a sense of ray actual position, and of the extraordinary extent of the personal freedom in which I was indulged. One of my first questions, on landing, had been to inquire for the Bureau of the Police, in order to obtain the necessary permission to remain in the country, and to visit the interior. The individual in the hotel, to whom I addressed myself, did not understand me! Further inquiry told me that EXEMPTIONS FllOivI VISITS OF THE POLICE. 97 such things were utterly unknown in America* My baggage was passed at the Custom-house without charge of any sort, except a trifling official fee for a permit to land it ; nor did any one present himself to ask or claim compensation for what I could have done better without him. I paid a cartman half a dollar for transporting the trunks to my lodgings, where, assisted by the servants of the house, they were placed in the proper room, and then every body silently disappeared, as if no more had been done than what was naturally required by the circumstances. These were the whole of the ceremonials observed at my landing in America. My entrance into Connecticut was not distinguished by any more remarkable incidents. " When shall we reach the frontier ?" 1 asked of the coachman, after a little delay. " I believe the line is along the wall of that field," he said, point- ing carelessly ^e//iW him. "What! is there nothing else to distinguish the boundary between two independent sovereignties ? No officers of the customs, no agents of the police, nor any one to ask us where we go, or whence we come ?'' The driver looked at me, as if he distrusted my reason a little ; but he continued mute. This silent passage from one state to another, gave me the first true impression I have obtained of the intimate nature of the connection which unites this vast confedera- tion. One may study its theory on paper for a twelvemoiith, without arriving at >so just a con- 4i il Ml I'* i ':' ff-i if \ih VOL. I. H II ■ ■'.*■'' 98 CONNECTION OF THE DIFFERENT STATES. ception of the identity of the national character and interests of this people, as I have acquired in visiting, in the same quiet manner, six of their sovereignties, and in finding every where so great a similarity of manners, customs, and opinions, unmolested by a single official form. There is something like it, certainly, in your own country ; but you are governed by one prince, one minister, and one parliament. Here, each state enacts its own laws, levies its own taxes, and exercises all the more minute and delicate functions of so- vereign power. The United States of America is the only civilized country, I believe, into which a stranger can enter without being liable to intrusions on his privacy by the agents of the police.* Assuredly this power is now used, throughout all Europe, with great discretion and moderation ; but that country may deem itself happy, that never feels any necessity for its exer- cise. To what is this peculiar freedom owing? To their position, their spare population, — to the absence or to the height of civilization ? Columbia, and Mexico, and Brazil, and a dozen others, are just as remote from Europe, and far less populous. Absence of civilization is not denoted by absence of restraint, in countries where life, character, and property are more than usually respected. I fear. Waller, that we have been too apt to confound * Possibly some of the British colonies can claim nearly the same exemptions from the interference of the police. 11 i PASSAOF OK A STATE FUONTIF.K. 99 y the these Americans with their soil, and to believe that, because the one is fresh, the other must also exist in the first stages of society. At all events, if not far beyond the rest of the world in the great desiderata of order and reason, they have some most ingenious methods of imposing on the senses of a traveller, who, I can affirm, is often at an utter loss to discover the machinery by which the wheels of the social engine are made to roll on so smoothly, so swiftly, and so cheap. T have not seen a bayonet, (except among the militia who re- ceived La Fayette,) a gendarme, a horse-patrole, a constable, (to know him,) nor a single liveried agent of this secret power. In short, if one should draw somewhat literally on the ten command- ments for rules to govern his intercourse with those around him, so far as I can see, he might pass his whole life here without necessarily arriv- ing at the practical knowledge that there is any government at all. ** Now we are in New York again," said my driver, some ten or fifteen minutes after he had assured me we had entered Connecticut. The apparent contradiction was explained by a wind- ing in the road, which had led us through the extreme point of an angle of the latter state. 1 looked around me in every direction, in order to discover if the least trace of any differences in origin, or customs, could be seen. I remembered to have heard Cadwallader say, that the effects of 1, i w 2 V Pi IT? ■ 1 i|) i ■ ^i • * L i ■< 1 4 „ 1 '■: ■ 1 ■■' • I r: ;:■ i/ :r;\-m i ■'.: ]l ■ 100 AMERICAN STATESMAN OF THE REVOLUTION. the policy pursued by the different states, were sometimes visible, to an observant traveller, at a glance, and that he could often tell when he had passed a state line, by such testimony as his eye alone could gather. As I could not then, nor Jiave not since, been able to detect any of these evidences of a different policy, I am inclined to think that the Americans themselves make some such distinctions in the case, as those by which the connoisseurs can tell the colouring of one painter from that of another, or those by which they know the second manner of the divine master of the art from his third.* Before leaving the state of New York the second time, I had an opportunity of paying a short visit to one of those distinguished men, who, by acting with so much wisdom, moderation, dignity, and firmness, during the dark days of this republic, imparted to its revolution a repu- tation that is peculiarly their own. I have ever been an enthusiastic admirer of the conduct of the Americans throughout those trying scenes. They need not hesitate to place it with confidence in comparison with any thing that history may boast. The deeds of the eighteenth century are less equivocal than the patriotism of Brutus, or the clemency of Scipio. Men are far more likely now to be judged by their acts than their words, * A more intelligible distinction certainly became apparent be- tween the slave-holding, and non-slave- holding states. 1:^ JOHN JAY. 101 int be- though even this direct and literal people have uttered sentiments, which, by their simplicity and truth, are entitled to be placed on the same page vv^ith the finest sayings of antiquity. The agents of the British government, who wished to tamper with the loyalty of a distinguished patriot, received an answer that would have done honour to any Roman. "Tell your employer," said the stern republican, "that I am not worth buying; but such as I am, the king of England is not rich enough to make the purchase !" The individual at whose residence I paid a passing visit, as a species of homage due to public virtue, was John Jay. This distinguished statesman had discharged many of the public trusts of his country, at a time when life and death hung on the issue. He was President of Con- gress during the war of the Revolution, before the present system was adopted, and when the country possessed no officer of higher dignity, or greater power.* He was, however, early sent * A mistake is often made in Europe, by blending this ancient officer with the President of the United States. Before the present constitution was adopted, (1789,) there was a President of Congress. At present, Congress is divided into two branches, a Senate and a House of Representatives, each of which has its presiding officer. The Vice President of the United States is, ex officio, the head of the Senate, though a substitute, to act on occasion, is always appointed, who is called the President of the Senate. The style by which the Vice-president is addressed in the Senate, is " Mr. President." The House of Representatives has a Speaker, like the English parlia- ment— he is addressed as •' Mr. Speaker." An individual who t I f Ml ■ : IWh-' 1 - WW" ,1 ' '.' f; ilf ■ ■» ''B ' jaf p Ji ' ■•J "Hi ■ ! ^ ii ' !i: '• 1 1 P:. i : : .( / 1 v^ it 'b \ ^■■^v f ■' ' ' .l i i il ;' II: 102 HIS SEKVICKS, AM) PKEStNT KKTI U F.AIENT. on I'oreign missions of great delicacy, and of the last importance. He resided a long time in Spain, unacknowledged, it is true, but eminently ser- viceable by the weight of his character, and the steadiness of his deportment. He signed the treaty of peace, (in conjunction with Franklin and the elder Adams,) having a singularly im- portant agency in bringing about that event which secured an acknowledgment of his country's in- dependence, and he negociated the first treaty of commerce and amity with Great Britain. An anecdote concerning the second of these treaties had been related to me, which is worthy of repe- tition, though I dare not give you any better authority for its correctness, than to say that it is of such a nature that 1 believe the circumstances, as I am about to relate them, are essentially true. Indeed, it was one of the chief inducements I felt for intruding on the privacy of a man, whose past life and present character impart a dignity that should render his retirement almost sacred. You undoubtedly know that, during the Ame- belongs to the lower house is, in common parlance, called a mem- ber of Congress, and one of the upper, a senator, or a member of the Senate. These distinctions, with some trifling exceptions, are observed in all the state legislatures, where the lieutenant governors commonly perform the duties in the upper houses, that the vice- president discharges in the Senate of the United States. Thus, though there is a President of the United States, a President of the Senate (the Vice President of the United States), and a Speaker of the House of Representatives, there is no such officer now known to the coiiniry as a "President of Congress," 'i' ANECDOTE OF THE TREATY OF 1783. 103 rican war, an alliance was formed between France and the new power. One v-f the customary con- ditions of this treaty was a stipulation that peace should not be made by either party without the consent of both. When England had become sufficiently prepared by her reverses to listen to amicable propositions, the American government ordered their minister in Spain (Mr. Jay), and their minister in Holland (Mr. Adams), to pro- ceed to Paris, and by uniting themselves to the minister in France (Dr. Franklin), to form a com- mission authorized to manage the expected nego- ciation on the part of the new republic. The latter of these gentlemen had been long accredited near the court of Versailles, where, by a happy union of great simplicity of manners, wisdom, and wit, he had become an object of singular admi- ration and affection. But the Americans say, that Franklin was a much better philosopher than politician. Be this as it might, the story adds, that France, now the drama was about to close, began to cast about her for the profits of the re- presentation. The Count de Vergennes had early succeeded in persuading Dr. Franklin, that as England could not, nor would not, formally ac- knowledge the independence of America, his better course would be to accept a trucey for twenty years, at the end of which period his country would be sufficiently strong to take what she needed for herself. The philosopher is said to ':.:| ■>i '-« ii.l^ 3 IfT 1 '5' '■ ' '\ ill 1 r ;'- ''•' ■;^^" jii' ili II ^ , .' > i: I. 1 tl iP>' i '1 f :'".'V 1 ■"■! 1 '?^^' 104 ANECDOTE. FRANKLIN, ITC. have acquiesced in this opinion, and began to stir his mighty reason in maturing the terms of this remarkable truce. In this state of mind he was found by Mr. Jay, on liis arrival from Madrid. The latter was not slow to perceive the effects of such a course, nor to detect the secret source whence the insidious council flowed. His eyes had not been dazzled by the splendour of a luxu- rious court, nor his ears soothed by the flattery of a polished nation. For a long time he had been content to dwell m obscurity in Spain, sacrificing every thing but his country's interests to his manliness and directness of character. He had steadily declined an interview with the king of the latter country, because he could not be re- ceived openly as an accredited minister. In short, he had too long patiently submitted to mor- tifications and retirement, rather than compromise the character of his nation, to see the substance at which he aimed so easily converted to a shadow. Mr. Jay denounced the policy of the Count de Vergennes, and declared that the unqualified independence of his country must be a sine qua nan in any treaty which bore his name. Mr. Adams soon joined the negociation, and took the side of independence. Franklin, who was at heart a true patriot, suffered the film to be drawn from his eyes, and perfect union soon presided in their councils. But England had not been unap- prised of the disposition of America to receive a DtClSION OF THE A M KlUC A \ COMM ISSIONLU. 105 truce. Her commissioner, Mr. Oswald, appeared with instructions to go no further. In this dilemma a step is ascribed to Mr. Jay that I believe is as remarkable for its boldness as for its good sense. He is said to have written, with his own hand, to the English Secretary of State, pointing out the bad consequences to England herself, if she ad- hered to her present policy. By keeping the truce suspended over America, she forced that country to lean on France for support ; whereas, by admitting her, at once, into the rank of nations, England would obtain a valuable customer, and might also secure a natural friend. Thus in- structed in a better policy, the English minister saw his error, and the same courier who conveyed the letter of Mr. Jay, returned with instructions to Mr. Oswald to acknowledge the independence of the United States. Finding themselves em- barrassed by the evasions of Count de Vergennes, believing they were betrayed, in the spirit of their alliance at least, and knowing that France could not find the smallest difficulty in settling her own affairs without their agency, the American com- missioners proceeded to sign a treaty of peace, in the very teeth of their instructions, without the knowledge of the French minister. When the latter found that his policy had not succeeded, he wrote a sharp note of remonstrance, which Dr. Franklin laid before his brother commissioners. It was much easier to perform a great act, like the one in which they had been engaged, than *.r- >n 1 » I' ,?<' f I I 4 ;..■ L m' \ ■! 4'' ( > < ri 106 OFFICES HELD BY JIU. JAY, ETC. to word a proper reply to this communication. There was but one ground on which their appa- rent want of faith could be justified, and to give that to the Count de Vergennes, might probably be much more true than polite. After a good deal of hesitation, they discovered that the letter bore the simple superscription of Dr. Franklin, and the colleagues of the latter imposed on him the duty of answering a note, which they gravely insisted was not officially addressed to the commissioners. How well the philoso- pher acquitted himself of this delicate affair, my information does not say ; but though a vote of censure on the commissioners was proposed in Congress, their conduct was thought, under the circumstances, so very justifiable, that it was never passed. Now, I repeat, for all this I cannot name my authority, since living men are parties to the transaction, but 1 will again say, that it is so respectable, that I believe the anecdote to be substantially correct. On his return from Europe, Mr. Jay for some time filled the office of Minister for Foreign Affairs. He took a distinguished part in forming the present constitution of the United States. In conjunction with Hamilton and Madison, he wrote the celebrated essays under the signature of the Federalist, which have since come to be a text- book for the principles of the American govern- ment. He was then made Chief Justice of the United States, having been educated for the bar. 1 1 I- OKHCIAI. HANK NUCKUTAIN tVIUENti:. 107 which office he resigned, in order to proceed to England to negociate the treaty of commerce. He was afterwards six years governor of his native state (New York), after which he retired from l)olitical life altogether, refusing the office of Chief Justice again, which was offered to him by his old coadjutor, Adams, then about also to retire from the chair of the presidency of the United States. Since the latter period, near five and twenty years, Mr. Jay has lived on the hereditary estate where 1 saw him, enjoying the profound, and I might almost say, idolatrous respect of all who enter his private circle. As his manner of liv- ing may serve to give you a better idea of the usages of this country, I will endeavour to give a short description of so much of it, as may be done without violating that respect which is due to the hospitality and frankness of my reception. I shall merely premise, I have already discovered that official rank, in this country, furnishes no certain clue to the rank of an individual in ordinary society, nor consequently to the style in which he may choose to regulate his establishment. In order that you ma^ understand me, however, it is necessary that I should go a little into detail. One hears a great deal in Europe of the equality of the United States. Now, if you will make a moderate allowance for the effects which are pro- duced by the division of property on the death of . 1.; ',■ Si'iitfl IM- I ' ■ i : 1 1 108 HEASONS WHY IT SHOULD NOT. If its possessor, or the facility witli which estates are acquired, and to the fact that no legal orders exist in the community, you may, with a certain qualification, take' the general rules which govern the associations and habits of all other countries, as applicable to this. In order, however, to measure accurately the degree of influence the circumstances just named produce, probably re- quires a greater knowledge of America than I possess. Though it is quite apparent that those conventional castes which divide the whole civi- lized world into classes, are to be found here, just as they are in Europe, they appear to be separated by less impassable barriers. The features of society are substantially the same, though less strongly marked. You, as an Englishman, can find no difficulty in understanding, that the opinions and habits of all the different divisions in life may prevail without patents of nobility. They are the unavoidable consequences of differences in fortune, education and manners. In no particular, that I can discover, does the situation of an Ame- rican gentleman differ from that of an English gentleman, except that the former must be con- tent to. enjoy his advantages as a concession of the public opinion, and not as a right. 1 can readily believe that the American, whatever might be his name, fortune, or even personal endowments, who should arrogate that manner of superiority over his less fortunate countrymen that the aris- l\ I. MISTAKE ly JUDGING AMERICAN' MANVKRS. 109 tocracy of your country so often assume to their inferiors, would be in great danger of humiliation ; but I cannot see that he is in any sense the less of a gentleman for the restraint. I think I have already discovered the source of a very general error on the subject of American society. Short as has been my residence in the country, I have met with many individuals of manners and cha- racters so very equivocal, as scarcely to know in what conventional order they ought to be placed. There has been so singular a compound of in- telligence, kindness, natural politeness, coarse- ness, and even vulgarity, in many of these per- sons, that I am often utterly baffled in the attempt to give them a place in the social scale. One is ashamed to admit that men who at every instant are asserting their superiority in intellect and infor- mation, can belong to an inferior condition ; and yet one is equally reluctant to allow a claim to perfect equality, on the part of those who are constantly violating the rules of conventional courtesy. That the forms of even polite inter- course, in this country, are different in very many particulars from our own, is quite evident, but it is far less apparent that Europe enjoys any very decided advantage on this account. If I should venture to give an opinion, thus early, on a ques- tion that in its nature, is so very delicate, I should say, that we give to hundreds of Americans a place in their own society, which, in fact, they cannot r ' ■ •. ^ ' i; 'im 'I' I 3 « i' > ■1 i :' 110 GOVEUNMENT AND SOCfP-TY UNCON VKCTKD. claim, merely because we discover in them certain qualifications that few or none possess in Europe, who are not actually members of her social elite. But this is anticipating a subject on which I may be much better prepared to write a twelvemonth hence. I have told you that official rank in America has very little connection with rank in ordinary society. This assertion, however, is liable to some little exception. There are certain political stations of so much dignity, as in a great measure to entail on their possessors, and even on their families, the indefinable privileges of caste, here as 'elsewhere, though from what I can learn this is far fiom being invariably the case. Thus, while the office of President of the United States, or of governor of a State, will, in their very nature, open the doors of most houses to their incumbents, a man may be a member of Congress, or even a Senator, and continue to fill his original station in ordinary life. This, also, you, as an En- glishman, ought to understand, nor will it be much longer unintelligible in all those other coun- trierj of Europe, where representative governments are opening ihe avenues of political power to all men. Indeed, in France, even under the old regime, government and society were perfectly distinct. No v, just as America is more democra- tic in her institutions, just so much the more is f his blending of conditions discernible in her dis- rir.'i AMERICAN COLONELS AND CITY WARRIORS. Ill tribution of political favours. Your countrymen are very apt to make themselves merry with the colonel'} and majors that are innkeepers in Ame- rica ; but really it appears to me that these people have much the best right to laugh in the matter^ since they can find individuals fit to fill such sta- tions, in a condition of life, that, in common, is occupied by men qualified to do little or nothing else than discharge the duties of their ordinary call- ing. But you have had your train-bands, with their pastry-cook, and fishmonger colonels, as well as the Americans. I know of but two points, then, in which you differ in this particular from the very people whom you affect to ridicule. I have not heard of any of your city warriors, who can shew their scars, or who have ever encountered a danger more formidable than effecting a defile in face of a pump, without throwing their phalanxes into con- fusion ; whereas, I have seen more than one Ame- rican veteran perform the offices of a host, who had faced with credit the best of your battalions, and who makes a matter of honest boasting that he has as often seen the back as the face of his enemies, they too, having been both English and French grenadiers. This is one, and no trifling point of distinction between the two classes. The other is, that your train-bands are rarely found beyond the influence of the household troops, or such other mercenaries as may serve to set them a proper example of loyalty, while the Ameri- f/'F- ' i. 1 ^i s, f. .ti i .far 112 OPINION OF A VETKUAN, WHO KEPT AN INN'. cans, unhesitatingly put arms into the hands of all their people who are of an age to carry them. I believe the latter, after all, is the true reason why colonels and majors so much abound in this country. While crossing the state of Massachusetts the last time, I passed a night in the house of one of these military Bonifaces. He was precisely the sort of man Cadwallader had described ; kind, in-' dependent, unassuming in fact, but unyielding in appearance ; a colonel in the militia, a member of the state legislature, and, in short, one who at need would give you his own blanket and think no more of it, but who would refuse your money unless it were offered with civility, and as a just return for what he had bestowed. I passed a half hour conversing with the old man, who had seen a good deal of service during the wars of *56 and '76. We spoke of the different military systems pursued by England and America, and he not only seemed willing to do justice to the troops of the former, but he readily admitted that men who did nothing but * train,* as he termed it, ought to be better soldiers than militia who entered the ranks but once or twice a year. Encouraged by this concession, I ventured to suggest it was possible that his nation is wrong in her policy, and that she might do better to imitate the example of other countries in her mili- tary policy at least. His answer was certainly ON J HE UTILITY OK STANDING AUMIF.S. 113 characteristic, and I thought it not without some practical point. ** Each people to their wants," he said. *' In Europe you keep large standing armies because you can't hold together without them, and I conclude you pay for it. America has managed so far co do her own fight- ing, nor do I see that she has much need of doing that of any other people. As to the quality of the troops, we often handled the French roughly ; we drove the English out of the Bay State in 76, and we have contrived to keep them out ever since : so far as I can see, that is all we want of a soldier, whether he be dressed in scarlet, or a coat of brown homespun. As to keeping order at home, we can still do that without using our muskets, thank God." Now, whether a nation that has managed to keep foreign invaders from her shores, and to preserve the most perfect order within her borders, without the agency of any better colonels, than such as sometimes act as innkeepers, is entitled to the respect, or to the derision of the rest of the world, is a question I leave to your philosophy. At all events, com- munities which husband their resources, enjoy the comfortable assurance of having them at com- mand, when their possession may become a mat- ter of the last importance. But all this is leading me from the subject. Although a description of the establishment of Mr. Jay should not mislead you into an impression VOL. I. I ». If rtil 4't llS ' ? 114 THE DWELLING OF MR. JAY. that all those who have enjoyed public favour, in this country, live in a similar manner, it is cer- tainly more true as to those who have arrived to the high dignities he once possessed. In point of size and convenience, the dwelling of this distin- guished American is about on a level with a third- rate English country house, or a second-rate French chateau. It has most of the comforts of the former, with some luxuries that are not easy to obtain in your island, and it is consequently both inferior and superior to the latter, in very many particulars. There is a mixture of use and appearance in the disposition of the grounds, that I am inclined to think very common about the residences of gentlemen of this country. The farm buildings, &c., though a Httle removed, were in plain view, as if their proprietor, while he was willing to escape from the inconveniences of a closer proximity, found a pleasure in keeping them at all times under his immediate eye. The house itself was partly of stone, and partly of wood, it having been built at different periods ; but, as is usual here, with most of the better sort of dwellings, it was painted, and having a comfort- able and spacious piazza along its fagadCy another common practice in this climate, it is not with- out some pretension externally ; still its exterior, as well as its internal character, is that of respec- table comfort, rather than of elegance, or show. The interior arrangements of this, no less than of AKMORIAL BKARIXGS, LIVEIUKS, ETC. 115 most of the houses I have entered here, are de- cidedly of an English character. The furniture is commonly of mahogany, and carpets almost universally prevail, summer and winter. There is a great air of abundance in the houses of the Americans generally, and in those of the wealthy, it is mingled with something that we are apt to consider luxurious. I might have counted ten or twelve domestics about the establishment of Mr. Jay, all quiet, orderly, and respectful. They were both white and black. You probably know that the latter are all free here, slavery having been virtually abolished in New York.* The servants wore no liveries, nor did I see many that did out of the city of New York. Though sometimes given, even there, they are far from frequent. They are always exceedingly plain, rarely amounting to more than a round hat with a gold or a silver band, and a coat, with cuffs and collars faced with a different cloth. Armorial bearings on carriages are much more frequent, though Cadwallader tells me it is getting to be more genteel to do without even them. He says the most ancient and ho- nourable families, those whose descent is univer- sally known, are the first to neglect their use. I saw the carriages of Mr. Jay, but their pannels were witaout any blazonry. I remarked, how- ever, ancient plate in the house that bore those European marks of an honourable name, and * It finally expired by law, July 4th, 1827. I 2 ' %' ■| ''% ■ i I'l ' if y ■ :|: ;_' " ■ i 1} J' )4{ i !?!fiil I r| 116 HUGUENOTS. FUENCH NAMtS. !, ) ■ which I did not hesitate to refer to the period of the Colonial government. Mr. Jay himself is of French descent, his ancestor having been a re- fugee from the religious persecution that suc- ceeded the revocation of the edict of Nantes. There are many families of similar descent in the United States, and among them are some of tht, first names of the country. I passed a little town in the county of Westchester, that was said to have been originally settled by emigrants from the persecuted city of Rochelle. It bears the name of New Rochelle , and to this hour, though much blended by intermarriages with those of English origin, the people retain something of the peculiar look of their French ancestry. I saw on the signs, the names of Guion, Renaud, Bonnet, Florence, Flanderau, Coutant, &c. kc, all of which are clearly French, though the sound is commonly so perverted, that it may be said properly to belong to no language. There are also one or two others of these settlements in this state, and many more in different parts of the Union, but their peculiar national customs have long since been swallowed in the overwhelmin-- influence of the English. The language is entirely lost among these children of France. I had, however, a trifling evidence of the length of time ancient usages will linger in our habits, even under the most unfavourable cir- cumstances. My driver encountered, near New Rochelle, aa old acquaintance, standing before ia ' HKMAINS OF A FRENCH TASTE IN A FARMER. 117 'M the door of his own habitation. The horses either needed breath to mount a hill, or the worthy dis- ciple of Phaeton chose to assume it. " Why do you leave the stumps of those dead apple-trees in your orchard?" demanded the coachman, who very soon began to throw a critical eye over the hus- bandry of his acquaintance. '* Oh ! I gather all my morelles around their roots. Without the mushrooms in the fall,* and the morelles in the springs I should be as badly found as one of my oxen without salt.'* '* Now, that is for his French blood," said my driver to Fritz, while mounting the hill ; " for my part, I count a man a fool who will run the risk of being poisoned in order to tickle his palate with a mushroom." I have been told that these little peculiarities of their ancient French habits were all that was national which remained to the descendants of the Huguenots* Their religion had even undergone a change ; the original French Protestants being Calvinists, whereas their descendants have almost all be- come united to what is here called the Episco- palian, or the Church of England. I scarcely remember to have mingled with any family, where there v/is a more happy union of quiet decorum, and high courtesy, than I met beneath the roof of Mr. Jay. The venerable statesman himself is distinguished, as much now, for his dignified simplicity, as he was, formerly, * The Ameiicans commonly call the autumn the 'fall;' from, the, ftiUing of the leaf. • :ff •^ i ■I 'ff u i MB mi" ^1 -i I i Is . t 118 SIMPLE AND DKJMFIED HABITS OF MR. JAY. for his political sagacity, integrity, and firmness. By one class of his countrymen he is never spoken of without the profoundest respect. It is evident that there are some who have been accustomed to oppose him, though it is not difficult to see that they begin to wonder why. During my short stay beneath this hospitable roof several of the yeomanry came to make visits of respect, or of business, to their distinguished neighbour. Their reception was frank and cordial, each man receiving the hand of the ** Governor," as he is called, though it was quite evident that all ap- proached him with the reverence a great man only can inspire. For my own part, I confess, I thought it a beautiful sight to see one who had mingled in the councils of nations, who had in- structed a foreign minister in his own policy, and who had borne himself with high honour and lasting credit in the courts of mighty sovereigns, soothing the evening of his days by these little acts of bland courtesy, which, while they elevated others, in no respect subtracted from his own glory. His age and infirmities prevented as much intercourse as I could have wished with such a man, but the little he did communicate on the scenes in which he had been an actor, was uttered with so much clearness, simplicity, modesty, and discretion, that one was left to regret that he could not hear more. There is a very general opinion in America, that Mr. Jay has been much occupied, in later NOTIONS OF THE EMPLOYMENT OF MK. JAY. 1 19 life, in writing on the prophecies. Of course this is a subject on which I know nothing, but some- thing occurred in the course of conversation which strongly inclines me to hazard a conjecture that they are not true. We were speaking of some recent English works on the Apocalypse, when he expressed, in general terms, his sense of the fruitlessness of any inquiry, at the present hour, into their hidden meaning. I am rather inclined to think, that as this eminent man has endea- voured so to model his life, that he may be prepared for any, and every, development of the mighty mystery, some curious, but incompetent observers of his habits have mistaken his motive, attributing that to a love of theory, which might, with more justice, be ascribed to the humbler and safer cause of practice. And here I must bid adieu to this estimable statesman ; but before I take leave of you, I will mention a queer enough instance of the vagaries of the human mind, which has recently come under my observation, and which is oddly enough recalled by the connection between Mr. Jay and his fancied avocations in retirement. It furnishes another proof of the precarious quality of all conjecture. Every body has heard of Zerah Colburne, one of those inexplicable prodigies, whose faculties enable them to assume a command over the powers of numbers that is, probably, quite as much of a mystery to themselves, as to the rest •.}{ 1. 1 ■ ,' A. mi "'".1.! 2 nr 'I il % !?» I . < 120 ODD FACULTY IN ZF.llAll COLDUIIN'E. of mankind. High expectations were raised of the effects which education might produce on the capacity of this boy. He went to England ; ex- hibited ; calculated ; astonished every body ; was patronized ; sent to school ; became a man ; re- turned to his native country lately, and brought back with him the literary offering of a tragedy ! I have seen the manuscript, and must say that I think, for once at least, " he has missed a figure." — Adieu. P: \ fe ! i. I ^^ mi TO SIR EDWARD WALLER, BART. New York, The six North Eastern States of this great union compose what is called New England.* The appellation is one of convention, and is un- known to the laws. It is a name given by a King of England, who appeared willing to con- ciliate that portion of his subjects, who had de- serted their homes in quest of liberty of conscience, by a high-sounding title. It will be remembered that colonies of the Dutch and Swedes, at that time, separated the northern possessions of the English from those they held in Virginia. It is * Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. NEW ENGLAND. GEOORA PIIIC AL LIMITS, ETC. 121 most probably owing to the latter circumstance that the inhabitants of the New England provinces so long retained their distinctive character, which was scarcely less at variance with that of the slave-hold- ing planters of the south, than with that of their more immediate neighbours, the Dutch. The pacific colonists of Penn brought with them but little to soften the lines of distinction, and after New York became subject to the Crown of Britain, it was a mtlange of Dutch quietude and English aristo- cracy. It was not until the Revolution had broken down the barriers of provincial prejudices, and cleared the way for the unrestrained exercise of the true national enterprise, that these territorial obstacles were entirely removed, and a thorough amalgamation of the people commenced. A few observations on the effect of this amalgamation, and the influence it has had on the character of the nation, may not be thrown away here. The little I shall say is written under the inspection of Cadwallader, confirmed, if not improved, by my own observation. The people of New England are, even to this hour, distinguished among their own active and quick-witted countrymen, for their enterprise, frugality, order, and intelligence. The three latter qualities, taken in conjunction, I believe they have a right to claim to a degree that is elsewhere un- equalled. The Scot and the Swiss, the Dane and the Swede, the German, the Belgian, or even ■ l \\ V' ■'m 1 1 ■ u r iff mn Hi^.* W'l |||.i- 122 THE PEOPLE OF NEM' ENGLAND. 1! the Frenchman, may be often as frugal, but there is always something of compulsion in European frugality. The inhabitant of New England seems thrifty on principle ; since he neglects no duty, forgets no decency, nor overlooks any of the higher obligations in order to save his money. He is eminently economical and provident in the midst of abundance. A sentiment of deep mo- rality seems to influence his savings, which he hoards, in order that the superfluity of his wealth may be serviceable, as wealth should be, in se- curing his own private respectability, and in advancing the interests of the whole. No doubt, in a great community, where economy is rigidly practised as a virtue, some mistake its object, and pervert a quality, which is so eminently adapted to advance the general good, to the pur- poses of individual rapacity. But it is impos- sible to journey through New England and witness its air of abundance, its decency, the absence of want, the elevation of character, which is imparted to the meanest of its people, without respecting the sources whence they flow. A prudent and discreet economy is, in itself, an evidence of a reflecting and instructed being, as order is the necessary attendant of abundance and thought. You may form some estimate of the degree of intelligence which is diff\ised throughout the com- munity in New England, by the facts contained in a report I lately read concerning the progress ■I ::1 schools: quamty of instruction 123 of general instruction in Massachusetts. That State contains nearly 600,000 souls, all of whom (of proper age), with the exception of about 400, could read and write. It is probable that the latter number was composed chiefly of foreigners, blacks from other States, and those who laboured under natural disabilities. But reading, writing, and arithmetic, are far from being the limits of the ordinary instruction of the lower American schools. A vast deal of useful and creditable knowledge, moral and useful, is also obtained in learning to read. I have known Cadwallader to say re- peatedly, that in referring to familiar history and geography, he invariably passes by all his later acquisitions in the academies and university, to draw upon the stores he obtained during his in- fancy in one of the common schools of the country. Perhaps, in this particular, he differs but little from most educated men everywhere ; but it is an important fact to remember that the children of his father's tradesmen, and indeed of every other man in the place, enjoyed precisely the same means of obtaining this species of informa- tion, as the son of the affluent landlord. He also pointed out another important fact, as distinguish- ing the quality of the knowledge acquired in the schools of America from that which is obtained in a similar manner, in most, if not all, of Europe. There is no lethargy of ideas in this country. What is known to one (under the usual limits of H < ^•« i 124 COMPARED WITH FRANCE. learning) soon becomes the property of all. This is strictly true, as respects all the minor acqui- sitions of the school. It is also true as respects every sudden and important political event, in any quarter of the world. The former species of in- formation is obtained through new and improved editions of their geographies, hisUries, and gram- ralars, and the latter through the powerful agency of the public press. A new division of the German empire, for instance, would be change enough to circulate a new geography through all the schools of America. Improved system ■> of arithmetic are as numerous as the leaves on the trees, nor is there any scarcity of annals to record the events of the day. My companion pointed out the dif- ference, between his own country and France for instance, in this particular. He has three or four young female relatives at school in the latter country. Curiosity had induced him to bring away several of the class-books that had been put into their hands, in conformity to the system which governs these matters there. In the history of France itself, the Revolution is scarcely mentioned! The reign of Napoleon is passed over in silence, and the events of 1814 and 1815 consigned to an oblivion, which does not conceal the siege of Troy. One can understand the motives of this doubtful policy ; but Cadwallader pointed out defects in the geographies, which can only be accounted for on the grounds of utter indifference. One example ACTIVITY OF THOUGHT IN AMERICA. 125 shall suffice for numberless similar instances of gross and culpable neglect, since it could not be ignorance, in a country where the science of geo- graphy is certainly as well understood as in any other part of the earth. With an excusable sen- sitiveness, he shewed me, in a recent edition of an authorized geography, the account of his own confederation. It is said to be composed of eighteen states, though twenty-one are actually named, and twenty -four y in truth, existed ! Even the palpable contradiction seems to have escaped the proof-readers of the work. Now this book, ex- cessively meagre in itself, is put into the hands of the future mothers of France. Their own kingdom is certainly dealt with a little more liberally ; but, though it is perhaps the highest effort of human knowledge, to know one's self, in order to a right undeVstanding of our own character, it is abso- lutely necessary to have a pretty intimate ac- quaintance with those of other people. I speak understandingly, when I tell you, that the geo- graphies and modern histories which are read by the commonest American children, are vastly- more minute and accurate than those read in most of the fashionable pensions of Paris. The effects of this diffusion of common instruc- tion is pre-eminently apparent throughout New England, in the self-respect, decency, order, and individuality of its inhabitants. I say indivi- duality, because, by giving ideas to a man, you 1 4^ 126 RELUCTANCE OF EUROPE .■■u t M J ■ * '■\ i hi Pi 1.' H ww^ in % \ l^fr!^! ''% impart the principles of a new existence, which supply additional motives of concern to his respec- tability and well-being. You are not to suppose that men become selfish by arriving nearer to a right understanding of their own natures and true interests, since all experience proves that we become humane and charitable precisely as we become conscious of our own defects, and obtain a know?edge of the means necessary to repair then*. A remarkable example of this truth is to be found in New England itself. Beyond a doubt, no where is to be found a population so well instructed, in elementary knowledge, as the people of these six states. It is equally true, that I have no where witnessed such an universality of that self-respect which preserve? men from moral degradation. I very well know that in Europe, while we lend a faint attention to these statements concerning American order and pros- perity, we are fond of seeking causes which shall refer their origin to circumstances peculiar to her geographical situation, and which soothe our self- love, by enabling us to predict their downfall, when the existence of European pressure shall reduce the American to the level of our own necessities. I confess, I entered the country with very similar impressions myself ; but nearer ob- servation has disturbed a theory which is generally adopted, because it is both consolatory and simple. We are apt to say that the ability of the Ameri- TO BELIEVE IN AMERICAN ORDER. 127 cans to maintain order at so little cost of money and personal freedom, is derived from the thin- ness of population and the absence of want : but the American will tell you it proceeds from the high civilization of his country, which gives to every member of the community a certain interest in its quiet and character. I confess, I was a little startled to hear a people who scarcely possess a work of art that attains to mediocrity, — among whom most of the sciences are compara- tively in their infancy, — who rarely push learn- ing beyond its practical and most useful points, and who deal far less in the graces than in the more simple forms of manners, speak of their pre-eminent civilization with so evident a com- placency. But there is a simple dignity in moral truths, that dims the lustre of all the meretricious gloss which art and elegance can confer on life. I fear that it is very possible to live in a gilded palace — to feast the eyes on the beau ideal of form and proportions, — to be an adept in the polished deceptions of conventional intercourse, — to smile when others smile, and weep when others weep, — to patronize and to court, — to cringe and to do- mineer, in short, to reach the ne plus ultra of eastern refinement, and still to have a strong flavour of barbarity about one after all. There can be no true humanity, which is the essence of all civiliza- tion, until man comes to treat and consider man as his fellow. That society can never exist, or. i ' (L'B i M « 1 M^^^H AM wk N m •li ! m i i M tit J 1 128 OBJECT OF GOVERNMENT, ■.*) *> f ^ lii' I ' 1 mm ^ I . ■ \ '■ } '■: !'■ ', ■ ^ ;' f ' . : ' . 1 ■ ■■'i ;^^ : ■J ■:■ : ' h'- m-. ■i 1 1 f it ,* at least, that it could never advance, under a too fastidiously strict interpretation of thi j duty, needs no proof, since all incentive to exertion would be deadened in a condition where each member of the community had an equal right to participate in the general abundance. The great desideratum of the social compact would then seem to be, to produce such a state of things as shall call the most individual enterprise into action, while it should secure a proper consideration for the in- terests of the whole ; — to avail of the talents of the gifted few, while the long train of humbler beings shuU have scope and leisure also for the privileges of their xiiortality : in short, to profit by the suggestions of policy, without forgetting the eternal obligations of humanity. 1 f a union of the utmost scope to individual enterprise with the most sacred regard to the rights and feelings of the less fortunate of our species, be any evidence of an approximation to this desired condition of society, I think the inhabitant of New England has a better right to claim an elevated -^tate of being than any other people I have ever visited. The activity of personal efforts is every where visible on the face of the land, in their comforts, abundance, improvements, and progressive wealth, while the effect of a humanity that approaches almost to refinement, was felt at every house I entered. Let me not be misunderstood : I can readily conceive that an European gentleman, HABITS AND MANNERS OF NEW ENGLAND. 129 who had not been, like myself, put on his guard, would have found numberless grounds of com- plaint, because he was not treated as belonging to a superior class of beings by those with whom he was compelled to hold communication. Ser- vility forms no part of the civilization of New England, though civility be its essence. T can say with truth, that after traversing the country for near a thousand miles, in no instance did I hear or witness a rude act : not *^he slightest im- position was practised, or r/ttempted, on my purse ; all my inquiries were heard with patience, and answered with extraordinary intelligence : not a farthing was asked for divers extra services that were performed in my behalf; but, on the con- trary, money offered in the way of douceurs was repeatedly declined, and that too with perfect modesty, as if it were unusual to receive rewards for trifles. My comforts and tastes, too, were uniformly consulted ; and, although I often tra- velled in a portion of the country that was but little frequented, at every inn I met with neat- ness, abundance, and a manner in which a desire to oblige me was blended with a singular respect for themselves. Nor was this rare combina- tion of advantages at all the effect of that sim- plicity which is the attendant of a half-civilized condition; on the contrary, I found an intel- ligence that surprised me at every turn, and which, in itself, gave the true character to the VOL. I. K I W ' 'i 1 t>^ m u 1 ! "■li- 130 DIFFUSIVE INTEI.LIGEXCE. humanity of which I was the subject. 1 re- peatedly found copies of your standard English authors, in retired dwellings where one would not expect to meet any production of a cast higher than an almanack, or a horn-book ; nor were they read with that acquiescent criticism which gives a fashion to taste, and which makes a joke of Moliere better than a joke of any other man. Young women (with whom my situation, no less than my tastes, oftenest brought me into literary discussions) frequently surprised me with the extent of their acquaintance with, and the soundness of their opinions concerning the merits and morality of Pope and Addison, of Young and Tillotson, and even of Milton and Shakspeare. This may sound to you ridiculous, and certainly, if taken without a saving clause for the other ac- quirements of my female critics, it is liable to some exception ; but I repeat I have often known pro- fessed blues acquit themselves with less credit than did several of my passing acquaintances at the tea-tables of different New England inns. I can, however, readily conceive that a traveller might pass weeks in this very portion of the country, and remain profoundly ignorant of all these things. In order to acquire information one must possess the disposition to learn. I sought out these traits of national character, and I flatter myself that by the aid of good dispositions, and a certain some- thing that distinguishes all of our fraternity in the OMISSIONS OF MOST TRA VKLLKIIS. 311 presence of the softer sex, a commendable pro- gress, in reference to the time and opportunity, was always made in their kind estimation. The great roads, as I have said, and as you well know, are rarely favourable in any country to an ac- curate acquaintance with the character of its inha- bitants. One may arrive at a general know- ledge of the standard of honesty, disinterestedness, and civilization of a people, it is true, by mingling with them in much frequented places, for these qualities are always comparative ; but he who would form an opinion of the whole by such specimens, must do it under the correction of great allowances. I believe the New Englandman, however, has less reason than common to deprecate a general decision of this nature. A good deal of my journey was unavoidably on a great route, and though I found some inconveniences, and rather more difficulty in penetrating their domestic re- serve there, than in the retired vallies of the interior, still the great distinctive features of the population were every where decidedly the same. It s worthy of remark that nearly all of the En- glish travellers who have written of America, pass lightly over this important section of the Union. Neither do they seem to dwell with much com- placency on those adjoining states, where the ha- bits and characteristics of New England prevail to a great extent, through the emigrants or their im- mediate descendants. I am taught to believe that, K 2 fi P :i' i , 1 i ' I ' '1 « ■ is \\ J5i-i'; 'a' 132 PIIOPOHTION OF NLW ENGLAND POPULATION. including the inhabitants of the six original states, not less than four millions of the American people are descended from the settlers of Plymouth, and their successors. This number is about four- tenths of the white population. If one recalls the peculiar energy and activity which distinguish these people, he may be able to form some idea of their probable influence on the character of the whole country. The distinctive habits of the Dutch, which lingered among the possessors of the ad- joining province of New York even until the com- mencement of the present century, have nearly disappeared before the tide of eastern emigration ; and there is said to be scarcely a state in the whole confederation which has not imbibed more or less of the impetus of its inexhaustable activity. Suspicion might easily ascribe an unworthy motive to a silence that is so very uniform on the part of interested observers. Volumes have been written concerning the half-tenanted districts of the west, while the manners and condition of the original states, where the true effects of the Ame- rican system can alone be traced, are usually dis- posed of in a few hurried pages. It is true there are some few of the authors in my collection, who have been more impartial in their notices, but most of them appear to have sought so eagerly for subjects of derision, as to have overlooked the more dignified materials of observation. Even the respectable Mr. Hodgson, who seems at all times OMISSION OF MR. HODGSON. 133 ready to do justice to the Americans, has con- tented himself with giving some thirty or forty pages to the state of New York, and disposes of all New England (if the extraneous matter be de- ducted), Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Ohio, in about the same space that he has devoted to a passage through the wild regions on the Gulf of Mexico. Though the states just mentioned make but a comparatively indifferent figure on the map, they contain nearly, if not quite, half of the entire population of the country. If to this be added the fact, that in extent they cover a surface about equal to that of the kingdom of France, one may be permitted to express some surprise that they are usually treated with so little deference. An American would be very much inclined to ascribe thisj uniform neglect to an illiberality which found no pleasure in any description but cari- cature, though I think few of them would judge 80 harshly of the author whose name I have just mentioned. As Cadwallader expressed it, even the mistakes of such a man are entitled to be treated wit\ respect. A much more charitable, and in the instance of Mr. Hodgson, I am fully persuaded a more just explanation would be to ascribe this apparent partiality to the woods, rather to a love of novelty, than to any bare thirst of detraction. There is little to appease the longings of curiosity, even in the most striking characteristics of com- mon sense : nor does a picture of the best endowed ■ r,| n il ■ r: !■;' ii i-i k :VM 1 , i I ' ■ VI ! 1 . . ' 1 , i ■ ■ 1 ■ '■ m0 () t 134 INFLUENCE OF NEW ENGLAND CHARACTER. a.nc^ most rational state of being, present half the attractions to our imaginations, as one in which scenes of civilization are a little coloured by the fresher and more vivid tints of a border life. Still he who would seek the great moving prin- ciples which give no small part of its peculiar tone to the American character, must study the people of New England deeply. It is there that he will find the germ of that tree of intelligence which has shot forth so luxuriantly, and is already shading the land with its branches, bringing forth most excellent fruits. It is there that religion, and order, and frugali 'y, and even liberty, have taken deepest root: and n^ liberal American, however he may cherish some of the peculiarities of his own particular state, will deny them the meed of these high and honourable distinctions. It may be pre- mature in one who has kept aloof from their large towns, to pronounce on the polish of a people whom he has only seen in the retirement and sim- plicity of the provinces. Their more southern neighbours say they are wanting in some of the nicer tact of polite intercourse, and that however they may shine in the more homely and domestic virtues, they are somewhat deficient in those of manner. I think nothing, taken with a certain limitation, to be more probable. I saw every where the strongest evidences of a greater equality of condition than I remember ever before to have witnessed. Where this l|§;.y EQUALITY OF CONDITION AND ITS EFFKCTS. J 35 equality exists, it has an obvious tendency to bring the extremes of the community together. What the peasant gains, the gentleman must in some measure lose. The colours get intermingled, where the shades in society are so much softened. Great leisure, nay, even idleness, is perhaps necessary to exclusive attention to manner. How- few, dear Waller, excel in it, even in your own aristocratic island, where it is found that a man needs no small servitude in the more graceful schools of the continent, to figure to advan- tage in a saloon. Perhaps there is something in the common habits of the parent and the child that is not favourable to a cultivation of the graces. Institutions which serve to give man pride in him- self, sometimes lessen his respect for others : and yet I see nothing in a republican government that is at all incompatible with the highest possi- ble refinement. It is difficult to conceive that a state of things which has a tendency to elevate the less fortunate classes of our species, should necessarily debase those whose lots have been cast in the highest. The peculiar exterior of the New Englandman may be ascribed with more justice to the restrained and little enticing manners of his puritan ancestors. Climate, habits of thrift, and unexampled equality of rights and fortune, may have aided to perpetuate a rigid aspect. But after all, this defect in manner must, as I have already said, be taken under great limita- ',1 ;■; i 'fa Ml I- M ^r il :-M-f 13G GROSS CAUICATURE OF THEIR MANNERS. tion. Considered in reference to every class below those in which, from their pursuits and education, more refinement and tact might cer- tainly be expected, it does not exist. On the contrary, as they are more universally intelligent than their counterparts in the most favoured Euro- pean countries, so do they exhibit, in their de- portment, a happier union of self-respect with consideration for others. The deficiency is oftener manifested in certain probing inquiries into the individual concerns of other people, and in a neglect of forms entirely conventional, but which by their generality have become established rules of breeding, than by any coarse or brutal trans- gressions of natural politeness. The former liberty may indeed easily degenerate into every thing that is both repulsive and disagreeable ; but there is that in the manner of a New England- man, when he most startles you by his familiarity, which proves he means no harm. The common, vulgar account of such questions, as " How far are you travelling, stranger? 'dnd where do you come from ? and what may your name be ?" if ever true, is now a gross caricature. The New Ensflanaman is too kind in all his habits to call 2Liiy msin stratiger.* His usual address is "friend," or sometimes he compliments a stranger of a * Cadwallader told me that this appellation is, indeed, used in the new states to the south-west, where it is more apposite, and subsequent observation has confirmed the fact. W ■' PROVERDIAL CUllIOSITY OF THE PEOPLE. 137 gentlemanly appearance, with the title of ''squire." 1 sought the least reserved intercourse that was possible with them, and in no instance was I the subject of the smallest intentional rudeness.* I say intentional, for the coun^^ry physician, or lawyer, or divine (and I mingled with them all), was igno- rant that he trespassed on the rules of rigid breeding, when he made allusions, however guarded, to my individual movements or situation. Indeed I am inclined to suspect that the Ameri- cans, in all parts of the Union, are less reserved on personal subjects than we of Europe, and pre- cisely for the reason that in general they bive less to conceal. I cannot attribute a coarser motive than innocent curiosity, to the familiar habits of a people who in every other particular are so singularly tender of each other's feelings. The usage is not denied even by themselves ; and a professor of one of their universities accounted for it in the following manner. The people of New England were, and are still, intimately allied in feeling no less than in blood. Their enterprise early separated them from each other by wide tracts of country; and before the introduction of journals and public mails, the inhabitants must have been dependent on travellers for most of their passing intelligence. It is not difficult to conceive * It is singular that every English traveller the writer has read, in the midsi of all his exaggerations, either directly or indirectly admits this fact. H I I: (■■ii m m 138 I'ECULIAR COURTESY OF THE INHABITANTS. 1., i I 1.: that, in a country where thought is so active, in- quiry was not suffered to slumber. You may pro- bably remember to have seen, when we were last at Pompeii, the little place where the townsmen were said to collect in order to glean intelligence from upper Italy. A similar state of things must, in a greater or less degree, have existed in all civilized countries before the art of printing was known ; and, in this particular, the only difference betv/een New and Old England probably was, that as the people of the former had more ideas to appease, they were compelled to use greater exertions to attain their object. But apart from this, I will confess startling familiarity, there was a delicacy of demeanour that is surprising in a population so remote from the polish of the large towns. I have often seen the wishes of the meanest individual consulted before any trifling change was made that might be supposed to affect the comfort of all. In this species of courtesy, I think them a people unequalled. Scarcely any one, howevoi elevated his rank, would presume to make a change in any of the dispositions of a public coach, (for I left my waggon for a time,) in a window of a hotel, or indeed in any thing in which others might have an equal concern, with- out a suitable deference to their wishes. And yet I have seen the glance of one woman's eye, and she of humble condition too, instantly change the unanimous decision of a dozen men. By the THE SITUATION OF WOMEN. 139 hand of the fair Isabel, Waller, there is something noble and touching, in the universal and yet simple and unpretending homage with which these people treat the weaker sex. I am sure a woman here has only to respect herself in order to meet with universal deference. I now under- stand what Cadwallader meant when he said that America was the real Paradise of woman. The attention and manliness which he exhibited for the Abigail of the little Isabel, is common to the meanest man, at least in New England. I traversed the country in harvest time, and scarcely recollect to have seen six females in the fields, and even they appeared there only on the emergency of some passing shower. When one considei's the price which labour bears, this solitary fact is in itself pregnant with meaning. A little boy whom I conveyed with his father in my waggon a dozen miles, (for I neglected no opportunity to mix with thejpeople,) laughed aloud as he pointed with his finger and cried, ** There is a woman at work among the men !" Had he seen her riding a war horse * en militaire,' he could scarcely have been more amused. After all, what nobler or more convincing proof of high civilization can be given than this habitual respect of the strong for the weak. The condition of women in this coun- try is solely owing to the elevation of its moral feeling, ^ As she is never misplaced in society, her influence is only felt in the channels of ordinary 140 DEVOTION TO THEIR FAMILIES. and domestic life. I have heard young and silly Europeans, whose vanity has probably been wounded in finding themselves objects of secon- dary interest, affect to ridicule the absorbed attention which the youthful American matron bestows on her family ; and some have gone so far in my presence, as to assert that a lady of this country was no more than an upper servant in the house of her husband. They pay us of the eastern hemisphere but an indifferent compli- ment, when they assume that this beautiful devo- tion to the first, the highest, and most lovely office of the sex, is peculiar to the women of station in America only. I have ever repelled the insinua- tion as becomes a man ; but, alas ! what is the tes- timony of one who can point to no fireside, or household of his own, but the dreaming reverie of a heated brain. Imaginary or not, I think one might repose his affections on hundreds of the fair, artless creatures he meets with here, with an entire confidence that the world has not the first place in her thoughts. To me, woman appears to fill in America the very station for which she was designed by nature. In the lowest conditions of life she is treated with the tenderness and respect that is due to beings whom we believe to be the repositories of the better principles of our nature. Retired within the sacred precincts of her own abode, she is preserved from the destroy- ing taint of excessive intercourse with the world. li RETIREMENT FROM THE WORLD. 141 She makes no bargains beyond those which supply her own little personal wants, and her heart is not early corrupted by the baneful and unfeminine vice of selfishness; she is often the friend and adviser of her husband, but never his chapman. She must be sought in the haunts of her domestic privacy, and not amid the wranglings, deceptions, and heart-burnings of keen and sordid traffic. So true and general is this fact, that I have remarked a vast proportion of that class who frequent the markets, or vend trifles in the streets of this city, occupations that are not unsuited to the feebleness of the sex, are either foreigners, or females de- scended from certain insulated colonies of the Dutch, which still *-etain many of the habits of their ancestors amidst the improvements that are throwing them among the forgotten usages of another century. The effect of this natural and inestimable division of employment, is in itself enough to produce an impression on the charac- ters of a whole people. It leaves the heart and principles of woman untainted by the dire tempta- tions of strife with her fellows. The husband can retire from his own sordid struggles with the world to seek consolation and correction from one who is placed beyond their influence. The first im- pressions of the child are drawn from the purest sources known to our nature ; and the son, even long after he has been compelled to enter on the thorny track of the father, preserves the memorial ill tl i'5 142 INFLUENCE OF M'OMEN IN SOCIETY. of the pure and unalloyed lessons that he has re- ceived from the lips, and, what is far better, from the example of the mother. Though every pic- ture of life in which these bright colours are made, the strongest must be deadened by deep and pain- ful shadows, I do firmly believe that the undeni- Me truth I have just written may be applied with as much, if not with more justice, to the condition and influence of the sex in New England as in any portion of the globe. I saw every where the utmost possible care to preserve the females from undue or unwomanly employments. If there was a burthen, it was in the arms or on the shoulders of the man. Even labours that seem properly to be- long to the household, were often performed by the latter ; and I never heard the voice of the wife calling on the husband for assistance, that it was not answered by a ready, manly, and cheerful compliance. The neatness of the cottage, the farm-house, and the inn ; the clean, tidy, health- ful, and vigorous look of the children, united to attest the usefulness of this system. What ren- ders all this more striking and more touching, is the circumstance that not only is labour in so great demand, but, contrary to the fact in all the rest of Christendom, the women materially exceed the men in numbers. This seeming departure from what is almost an established law of nature, is owing to the emigration westward. By the census of 1820, it appears, that in the six states MOIIE WOMF.N THAN MEN IN NEW ENGLAND. 143 of New England there were rather more than thirteen females to every twelve males over the age of sixteen. It is vain to say that absence of selfishness, and all the kinder and best feelings of man, are no more than the concomitants of abundance and simplicity, whicli in themselves are the fruits of a spare population and of pro- vincial retirement. If this be so strictly true, why do not the same qualities prevail in the more favoured regions of this very continent ? why do not order, and industry, and enterpris ^, and all the active and healthful virtues abound in South as in North America ? why is not the fertile pro- vince of Upper Canada, for instance, as much distinguished for its advancement in all the useful artF of life as the states of the neighbouring re- public ? and why, under so many physical disad- vantages, are the comparatively sterile and rocky states of New England remarkable for these very qualities amid their own flourishing and healthful sisters ? It cannot be the religious principles they derived from their ancestors, since the Penn- sylvanian and the New J' rseyman, and even the peaceful and honest Hollander of New York, can claim just as virtuous a descent. It cannot be any exclusive succession to the principles and habits of their English ancestors, since, with ex- ceptions too slight to affect the great body of the nation, this has been an inheritance common to all. It cannot be that time has matured their ti !:-i 144 INFLUENCE OF GENERAL INTELLIGENCE. institutions, and given play and energy to their mental advantages, since Brazil, and Chili, and Mexico, and many other nations of this continent, date a century older, and Virginia and New York, Canada and Louisiana, are of coeval existence. In short, it cannot even be their elastic and inciting liberty, for that too is a principle which has never been suffered to slumber in any of the vast and varied regions of this great confederation. We must seek the solution in a cause which is the parent of all that is excellent and great in com- munities, no less than in individuals. I mean in- telligence. That pitiful and narrow theory which, thank God, is now getting into disuse in Europe, and which taught the doctrine that instruction became dangerous to those who could not push learning to its limits, was never in fashion here. The limits of learning ! As if any one could yet pronounce on the boundaries which the Almighty has been pleased to set between the efforts of our reason and his own omniscience. It is true that the wisest men are always the most truly modest 5 for, having outstripped their competitors in the attainment of human knowledge, they alone can know how much there is necessarily beyond their reach, and how impossible it is for mortals to attain it. But who could ever yet say he had taxed his facuUies to the utmost. The world has been amusing itself with assumed axioms on this subject, when it might have been better employed I fit THK EFFKClSOf GENERAL INTELLIGENCE. 145 in investigating the truth in its more useful and practical forms. The self-sufficiency of pretenders has been tortured into an evidence of the danger of empiricism in knowledge. As well might the pedantry and foibles of the student himself be perverted to an argument against learning, as to say that thought must be kept in subjection because it sometimes leads to error. The fruits of knowledge are not to be weighed by the credit they reflect on this or that searcher after truth, but by the influence they produce on the mass of society. The man who, from defect of powers, or from any other adverse circumstance, cannot assist in the advancement of intelligence, may, notwithstanding, become the wholesome recipient of truth ; and the community which encourages a dissemination of the sacred quality, enjoys an incalculable advantage over all others, inasmuch as each of its members starts so much nearer to the goal for which every people must strive, (and that too through its individual members,) in order to secure a distinguished place in the great competition of nations. It is a remarkable fact, that the retired, distant, and little regarded states of which I am writing, had matured and were reaping the rare fruits of a system of ex- tended general instruction, for quite a century, when, a distinguished advocate for reform (Mr. Brougham), in the Parliament of your own coun*- try, that country which was then, and is still VOL. I. L ' H f^! '!^?*^ tit '?'-i t!« M ^ 'M 146 PECULIAR MERIT OF XEW ENGLAND. H ;, i! giving lessons to Europe in liberty and govern- ment, charmed the ears of the liberal by visions of a similar plan for yourselves, which then ex- isted, as it now exists, only in the wishes of the truly wise and benevolent. And yet one hears of the great moral debt that the people of New owe to the people of Old England ! The com- mon ancestors may h? '^. le^' i goodly inheritance to their children; but s' '!> subject, at least, it appears to me that the iiig< 9nt to the western hemisphere has made of his tale at ten talents, while his kinsman, who remained at home, has done little more than imitate the example of him who met with any thing but unqualified appro- baaon. • . . In reviewing my letter, I see that I have written warmly, and with a portion of that interest which the two subjects that have been its themes rarely fail to inspire. As I know you enter fully into all my feelings, both for the fair and for general instruction, (for however lame and defec- tive may have been the policy of your nation, com- pared with that of your kinsmen here, there still exists in England, as in Denmark, and a few other nations, a high and noble spirit of emulation,) I shall not repress a single sentence of that which has escaped my pen. But the subject must be left, until further opportunity shall be given to look ■into the society of New England in its large towns. • During the whole of my recent excursion. LAFAYETTE. illE M ANN ER OF HIS JOUKX EY . 147 though I purposely avoided encountering La Fayette, his visit has been a constant and inex- haustible topic of conversation. His journey along the coast has been like the passage of a brilliant meteor. In every village he has been received with modest, but heartfelt rejoicings, wrhile his entrances into the cities have been literally tri- umphant. That there have been some exhibitions ofjoy which a fastidious taste might reject, cannot be denied ; but you will remember that the people of this country are left to express their own senti- ments in their own fashion. The surprise should be, not that the addresses and receptions of which you will doubtless see some account in Europe, are characterised by so little, but that they are distinguished by so much soundness of discrimination, truth of principle, and propriety of manner. — Adieu. TO THE BARON VON KEMPERFELT, New York, 1824. I FEEL that a description of this ancient city of the United Provinces is due to you. In dwelling on its admirable position, its growing prosperity, and its probable grandeur, I wish to excite neither your hopes, nor your regrets. I have seen enough of this country already, to know, that in losing the L 2 m I fm' '1 11" ■ lii§| s i 148 VEW YORK. New Netherlands in their infancy, you only escaped the increased misfortune of having them wrested from your power by their own efforts at a more advanced period, when the struggle might have cost you, like that which England has borne, and Spain still suffers — an incalculable expendi- ture of men and money. You are thrice happy that your dominion in this quarter of America did not endure long enough to leave, in its train, any mortifying and exasperating recollections. The Dutch are still remembered here with a feeling strongly allied to affinity, by thousands of their descendants, who if, among their more restless and bustling compatriots of the east, they are not distinguished for the great enterprise which is peculiar to that energetic population, have ever maintained the highest character for thrift, unde- niable courage, and inflexible probity. These are qualities which never fail to create respect, and which, by some unfortunate construction of the human mind, as rarely excite envy as emulation. The name of the town, itself, is far from being happy. The place stands on a long narrow island, called Manhattan, a native appellation which should have been perpetuated through that of the city. There wes a precedent for innovation which might have been followed to advantage. It is a little surprising that these republicans, who are not guilt- less of sundry absurd changes in their nomenclature ofstreets, squares, counties, and towns, should have WHAT IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN. 149 neglected the opportunity of the Revolution, not only to deprive the royal family of England of the honour of giving a name to both their principal state and principal town, but to restore a word so sonorous, and which admits of so many happy va- riations as the appellation of this island. A " Man- hattanese" has certainly a more poetical sound than a ** New Yorker ;" and there is an euphony in the phrase of " Men of Manhattan" that the lovers of alliteration may long sigh in vain to hear equalled by any transposition of the present un- musical and complex term. Nor would the adoption of a new name be attended with half of the evils in the case of a city or a county, as in that of a street or a market, since the very noto- riety and importance of the alteration would serve to apprise all men of the circumstance. But a cen- tury and a half have confirmed the present title ; and while the city of the white rose has been moul- dering in provincial quiet, her western god-child has been growing into an importance that is likely to carry the name to that distant period when the struggles of the adverse factions shall be lost in the obscurity of time, or be matter of vague and remote history. A nation as commercial and active as this, has only fairly to elect the position of its favourite mart to put it on a level with the chief places of the earth. London and Paris, Vienna, Rome. Carthage, and, for any thing we know, Pekin and * I •,:.! .1, .1 Th: HI «;.■ '^^ II t I "f *■.' :|: I- ill I 150 THE UAVS AROUND N>.W VORK. Nankin, can refer the causes of their greatness to little beside accident or caprice. The same might be said of hundreds more of the principal places of antiquity, or of our own times. But it is only necessary to sit down with a minute map of the country before you, to perceive, at a glance, that Nature herself has intended the island of Man- hattan for the site of one of the greatest commer- cial towns in the world. The spirit of its possessors is not likely to balk this intention ; and it may be truly said, that the agents, both physical and moral, are in the happiest possible unison to ac- complish the mighty plan. Although all descrip- tion must fail to give a clear idea of the advantages of such a position, yet, as your imagination may be somewhat aided by one as imperfect as that must necessarily be which comes from my pen, it shall be attempted after my own desultory and irregular mariner. ' You must haVe obtained, through my letters, some general impression concerning the two great bays which lie between New York and the ocean. The former, you will recollect, is known by the name of '* Raritan," and the latter forms what is properly called the ** Harbour." Raritan Bay is an extensive roadstead, abounding with situations where vessels may be partialis protected from every wind that blows. It is, in fact, only open to the sea on the east ; but, by the aid of the low sandy cape I have mentioned, shelter can be had in it against the HAIUiOUH, ANCHORAGE, ETC. 151 heaviest gales from that quarter, as it may also be found in some one of its many anchoring grounds, against the wind from every other point of the compass. The harbour is still more secure ; a vessel being entirely land-locked, when anchored a mile or two within the Narrows. Here thea are space and security united to an extraordinary degree ; for, with the exception of a few well defined reefs, there is scarcely a rock in the whole port to endanger a ship, or even to injure a cable.i. But the true basins for the loading and unloading" of freights, and for the repairs and construction of vessels, are in the Hudson river, and in that narrow arm of the sea which connects the waters of the bay with those of the sound. The latter is most occupied at present by the ships engaged in' foreign commerce. This strait is near half a mile in width, has abundance of water for any thing that floats, and possesses a moderately swift, and a sufficiently accurate current. From the point of its junction with the bay, to an islands which, by narrowing its boundaries, increases the velocity of its tides too much for the convenience of handling ships at wharfs, the distance cannot be a great deal less than five miles. The wharfs on Manhattan Island already extend more than three of these miles. On the opposite shore (Long Island) there is also a long range of quays. In the Hudson, it is impossible to fix limits to the facilities for commerce. As the river is a mile in 152 HUDSON AT NEW YORK I WHARFS. ■fV width, and possesses great depth, it is plain that docks or wharfs may be extended as far as the necessities of the place shall ever require. The river is navigable for a heavy draught of water about a hundred miles, and for sloops and lighter craft some fifty or sixty more. The time has not yet come for the formation of massive, permanent quays in the harbour of New York. Wood is still too cheap, and labour too dear, for so heavy an investment of capital. All the wharfs of New York are of very simple construction, — A frame-work of hewn logs is filled with loose stone, and covered with a surface of trodden earth. This species of quay, if durability be put out of the question, is perhaps the best in the world. The theory that wood subject to the action of tides in salt water may become the origin of disease, is, like a thousand other theories, much easier advanced than supported. It is very true that the yellow fever has often existed in the immediate vicinity of some of these wharfs; but it is quite as true that there are miles of similarly constructed quays, in precisely the Sw.ne climate, where it has never existed at all. The Americans appear to trouble themselves very little on this point, for they are daily constructing great ranges of these wooden piers, in order to meet the increasing demands of their trade, while the whole of the seven miles of water which fronts the city, is lined with similar constructions, £ ■ ii ; &»^ » YELLOW fever: BUT LITTLE DREADED. 153 if we except the public mall, called ** the Battery," which is protected from the waves of the bay by a wall of stone. The yellow fever is certainly the only draw-back on the otherwise unrivalled commercial position of New York; but the hazard of this disease is greatly magnified in Europe. The inhabitants of the place appear to have but little dread on the subject, and past experience would seem, in a great measure, to justify their indifference. So far as I can learn, there never have bc?n but three or four summers when that fatal malady has com- mitted any very serious ravages in this latitude. These seasons occurred at the close of the last, and at the commencement of the present century. Since the year 1804, there have been but two autumns when the yellow fever has existed to any dangerous degree in New York, and neither of them proved very fatal, though it is certain that the arrangements of the city were exressively inconvenienced by its appearance. I believe it is admitted by scientific men, that this dangerous malady, though it is always characterised by certain infallible symptoms, often exhibits itself under forms so very much modified as to render different treatments necessary in different seasons. The fevers of 1819 and of 1821, in New York, were accompanied by circumstances so singular as to deserve a particular place in this letter. The wharfs of New York form a succession of !ft M h''. J: ;^''! '■m > \-- ■ m :&;: m 154 FEVER OF 1819 AND 1821. Mi little basins, which are sometimes large enough to admit thirty or forty sail, though often much smaller. These irregular docks have obtained the name of ** slips." One of the former was shown me that was particularly foul and offensive. Around this slip, at the close of the hot weather in 1819, the yellow fever made its appearance. A few individuals became its victims before the existence of the danger was fully established. The city authorities took prompt and happy measures for its suppression. The question of contagion or of non-contagi'jn had long been hotly contested among the medical men, and a sort of middle course, between the precautions inculcated by the two theories, had begun to be practised. So soon as it was found how far the disease extended, (and its limits were inconceivably small,) the inhabitants were all removed, and the streets were fenced, in order to prevent access to whet was proclaimed by authority to be " the infected district.*' The sick were conveyed into other quarters of the town, or to the country, some dying and others recovering. When the removal was made in time, or when the disease did not make its appearance until after the patient had experienced the benefit pf pure air, the malady was generally more mild, though still often fatal. No one took the disease by contagion, it being affirmed that every case that occurred could be distinctly traced to " the mfected district." The taint, corruption, or ani- \i -.4 ■Ai. .X ' IXFIiCTEDDlSTKICTS: MEANS OF PREVENTION. 155 malculae in the air, whichever the cause of the malady might be, gradually spread, until it was found necessary to extend the limits of " the in- fected district" in every direction. I am told that thousands remained in their dwellings, within musket shot of this spot dedicated to death, per- fectly satisfied that the enemy could make no inroads on their security without giving notice of his approach through some of those who dwelt nearest to the proscribed region. As the latter, however, acted as a sort of forlorn hope, a very respectable space was left around the fences, and, in one or two instances, especially in 1821, the disease, for want of nearer subjects, surprised a few who believed themselves sufficiently removed from its ravages. In neither year, however, did a case occur that could not be distinctly traced to the "infected district,*' or to a space that does not exceed one thirtieth part of the surface of the whole city. The progress of the disease was exceedingly slow, extending in a circle around the point whence it appeared to emanate. I heard several curious and well authenticated circum- stances that serve to confirm these facts, one of which I will relate. A lady of fortune had retired to the country on the first appearance of the fever. The house she left, stood a few hundred feet beyond the limits of the "infected district." Her son had occasion to visit this dwelling, which he did without h I • i: 'i ' hmk I' ' i'l: m p^ 156 INSTANCE OF CONTRACTING THE DISEASE. l!i scruple, since the gu irdians. of the city were thought lo be on tne aiert, and hundreds were still rf'sidag between the house and the known limits ox" the disease. On the return of the young gentleman to the country he was seized with the fever, but happily recovered. The fortune and connections of the youth gave notoriety to his cas2, and the fences were removed under the im- pression that the danger was spreading. After his recovery, however, Mr. acknowledged that, led by his curiosity, he had gone to the fence the day he was in town, where he stood for some time contemplating the solitude of the deserted streets. My informant, who could be a little waggish even on this grave subject, added, that some pretended that the curiosity of the young gentleman was so strong as to induce him to thrust his head through an opening in the fence* He, however, gave credit to the story in its sub- stance. The malady rarely appears before the last of August, and has invariably disappeared with the first frosts, which are commonly felt here in Octo- ber. The fever of 1821 caused much less alarm than that of 1819, though the infected district was far more extensive, and occupied a part of the city that was supposed to be more healthy. But ex- perience -iad shown that the disorder has its limits, and tiiat its inarch is slow and easily avoided. T'le mu chants estimate the danger of ■ i si THfORIES CONCERNING THE FEVER. 157 the fever in this climate at a very iow rate ; and, perhaps, like the plague, or those fatal diseases which have ravaged London, and other towns in the centre of Europe, it will soon cease to create uneasiness at all. I have endeavoured to glean all the interesting facts in mv power concerning this disease, from men of intelligence, who have not, like the phy- sicians, enlisted themselves in favour of one or the other of the conflicting theories of contagion or non-contagion, importation or non-importation. It appears to be admitted all round, that the disorder cannot be contracted in a pure atmo- sphere. If the circumstances I have heard be true, and from the authority I cannot doubt their being so, it seems also to be a nearly inevitable conclusion, that the disease is never generated in this climate. This, however, is a knotty point, and one that covers much of the grounds of disagree- ment. That a certain degree and concentration of heat is necessary for the appearance of the yellow fever, is a fact very generally admitted. There is a common opinion that it has never been known in New York, except in summers when the ther- mometer has stood something above 80 for a given number of days in succession. And yet the tem - perature is often as high, and for similar periods, without the appearance of the fever. The seeds of the disease are undoubtedly imported, whether it is ever generated here or not ; for it • In rr Ij. ii^im w t^i k" ^ ■ ; ^.. 1 1 him I m ■ 'r 158 FACTS CONCERNING THE DISF. A S K. THEORIES. has often happened that labourers who have been employed in vessels from the West Indies, after the crews had left them, have sickened and died. These cases must have arisen from a contaminated air, and not from strict contagion. Indeed there is scarce a summer in which some case of the fever does not occur at the Lazaretto, through vessels from the West Indies, or the more southern points of the United States. That the disorder does not extend itself is imputed to the pureness of the atmosphere at the time being. In a question in which important facts are liable to so much qualification, it is necessary, however, to admit their inferences with great caution. So much must depend, for instance, on the particular state of the system of the individual, that each case seems to require a cl. se examination beforf, any very conclusive reasoning can be grounded on its circumstances. One of the theories of the dis- order, as you probably know, assumes that it is no more than a high bilious fever exhibited under a peculiarly malignant form. All this may be very true, and yet the agent to produce that malifjaity, may exist in the atmosphere in such a condition as to render it rui^able of transporta- tion, and if I may "^o expre;?^ it, of expansion. There is a vulgar opinion that av^rtain vicious ani- malculge are generated in the warmer climates, and when conveyed to this latitude, if they meet with a genial tempp.rature, they thrive and propa- ANlMALCUL/i; THE CAUSE. 151) gate their species like other people, until growing bold with their numbers they wander abroad, are ' inhaled, and continue to poison the springs of human existence, until a day of retribution arrives in the destroying influence of a sharp frost. It is certain that the inhabitants of New York, who would have considered their lives in jeopardy by entering their dwellings one day, take peaceable possession of them the morning after a wholesome frost, with entire impunity. I have no doubt that much of the embarrassment under which this subject labours, is produced by the near resem- blance between the fever which is certainly im- ported, and that which sometimes originates in the climate; though the latter, perhaps, is limited to those cases in which the patient has a strong predisposition to the malady. After all, the most exaggerated notions prevail in Europe concerning the danger of the disease in this latitude. Nine^ tenths of the space covered by this city never had an original case of yellow fever in it, and its appearance at all is of rare occurrence. Indeed, I am led to belies e that New York, owing to its fine situation, is on the whole more healthy than most large towns. It has also been told to me, that the deaths by consumption, as reported, are probably greatly magnified beyond the truth, since the family physician or friend of one who has died, for instance, by excessive use of ardent liquors, would not be apt to tell the disreputably J f ;:'i-f^,L iiH lOO CHARACTER OF X£W YOHK FOR Hi:ALTH. truth, especially as it is not exacted under the obligations of an oath. Though I have as yet seen no reason to believe that intemperance, particularly among the native Americans, abounds here more than in other countries, yet I can readily believe it is very fatal in its conse- quences in a latitude where the temperature is so high in summer. There are certainly disorders that arem^^^e or less incidental to the climate, but there are many others of a pernicious character, that are either relatively innocent, or utterly un- known. When it is remembered that, compared with the amount of the whole population, a far greater number than usual of the inhabitants of i .Is city are of that reckless and adventurous class that regard indulgence more than life, and how easy it is to procure indulgence here, I think it will be found by the official reports, that the city of New York raay claim a high place among the most salubrious ports of the world. This impression will be increased, when one recals how little has as yet been done towards obtaining wholesome water, or to carry off the impurities of the place by means of drains. Still, as it is, New York is far from being a dirty town. It has certainly degenerated from that wholesome and untiring cleanliness which it may be supposed to have inherited from its first possessors. The houses are no longer scrubbed externally, nor is it required to leave one's slippers at its gates, lest ti w NKM VOKK A CM! AX lOWX. 101 the dust of the roads should sully the brijjhtness of glazed tiles and glaring bricks. But Paris is foul indeed, and London, in its more crowded parts, far from being cleanly, compared to New York. And yet the commercial emporium of this nation bears no goodly reputation in this par- ticular, among the Americans themselves. Her sister cities are said to be far more lovely, and the filth of the town is a subject of daily meanings in its own journals. But admitting the evil in its fullest extent, it is but a trifling blot on the otherwise high preten- sions of the place. Time, and a better regulated police will serve to remedy much greater evils than this. In order to view the city in its proper light, it must be considered in connection with those circumstances which are fast giving to it the character of the great mart of the western hemisphere. By referring to the description already given, you will find that New York possesses the advan- tages of a capacious and excellent roadstead, a vast harbour, an unusually extensive natural basin, with two outlets to the sea, and a river that, in itself, might contain all the shipping of the earth. By means of the Sound, and its tri- butary waters, it has the closest connection with the adjoining state of Connecticut ; and, through the adjacent bays, small vessels penetrate in almost every direction into that of New Jersey. These 5 ■» ■' m ■I ■ ' ■ ■ >v VOL. I. M n< IT •' 4. MI'j '! 'I. ji a ?'■:> !• if ' 162 SLUKOINDING COMMUNICATION BY WATER. are the channels by which the town receives its ordinary daily supplies. Cadwallader pointed out on the map seven considerable navij^able rivers, exclusive of the noble Hudson, and avast number of inlets, creeks, and bays, all of which were within a hundred miles of this place, and with which daily and hourly intercourse is held by means of sloops, or steam-boats. Still these are no more than the minor and more familiar advantages of New York, which, however they may contribute to her convenience, become in- significant when compared to the more important sources of her prosperity. It is true that in these little conveniences. Nature has done the work that man would probably have to perform a cen- tury hence, and thereby is the growth of the town greatly facilitated, but the true springs of its future grandeur must be described on a far more mag- nificent scale. New York stands central between the commerce of the north and that of the south. It is the first practicable port, at all seasons of the year, after you quit the mouth of the Chesapeake, going northward. It lies in the angle formed by the coast, and where the courses to Europe, to the West Indies, or to the Southern Atlantic, can be made direct. The ship from Virginia, or Louisiana, commonly passes within a day's sail of New York, on its way to Europe, and the coaster from Boston frequently stops at the wharfs of this city to HJVALIIV TO CONTEND AGAINST. IG3 it, to deposit part of its freight before proceeding fur- tlier south. Now, one so conversant with the world as your- self, need not be reminded that in every great commercial community there is a tendency to create a common mart, where exchanges can be regulated, loans effected, cargoe.-^ vended in gross, and all other things connected with trade, trans- acted on a scale commensurate to the magnitude of the interests involved in its pursuits. The natural advantages of New Fork had indicated this port to the Americans for that spot, imme- diately after the restoration of the peace in 1783. Previously to that period, the whole proceedings of the colonies were more or less influenced by the policy of the mother country. But for a long time after the independence of the states was acknowledged, the possessors of the island of Manhattan had to contend for supremacy against a powerful rivalry. Philadelphia, distant less than a hundred miles, was not only more wealthy and more populous, but for many years it en- joyed the eclat and advantage of being the capital of the union. Boston and Baltimore are both sea- ports of extensive connections, and of great and enlightened enterprise. Against this serious com- petition, however. New York struggled with success ; gradually obtaining the superiority in tonnage and inhabitants, until within a few years, when opposition silently yielded to the force of M 1 M : f i.-l iW 1 ■ (■ .li-:; n IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 1.1 LilM 12.5 ■U Itt 122 £ l£ 12.0 u USB •UUb 1.25 II U|,. 6 -^ 6" ► <^ vg ^/; ^J" ^ 7 /<^ fliotographic Sciences Corporation 23 WIST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14SS0 (716) S72-4303 \ iV •SJ ^\ \ ;\ 11 RS^^M 164 INCREASK, AND CONSEQUENCES OF SUCCESS. circumstances, and those towns which had so long been rivals became auxiliaries to her aggran- dizement. All this is perfectly in the natural course of things, though I find that a lingering of the ancient jealousy still tempts many of the mer- chants of the other towns to ascribe the ascen- dancy of New York to any cause but the right one. Among other things, the establishment of those numerous lines of packets, to which I have alluded in a previous letter, is thought to have had an influence on her progress. It appears to me that this is mistaking the effect for the cause. If I am rightly informed, the merchant of Boston already sends his ship here for freight; frequently sells his cargo under the hammer of the New York auctioneer to his own neighbour, and buys a new one to send to some distant part of the world, without seeing, from the commencement of the year to its close, the vessel which is the in- strument of transporting his wealth to the various quarters of the world. Philadelphians have been pointed out to me who are said to be employed in pursuits of the same nature. The whole mystery of these transactions rests on a principle that is within the compass of any man's understanding. Though articles can and are sometimes vended by itinerants in its streets, the material wants of every great town are supplied in the common market-place. It is easier to find a purchaser where much than where little is sold, and it is CIIAHACTER OF POPULATION. — GROWTH. 165 precisely for the reason that prices take a wider range in an extensive than in a limited market, that men congregate there to feed their wants or to glut their avarice. That New York must, in the absence of any counteracting moral causes, at some day have become this chosen mart of American commerce, is sufficiently evident by its natural advantages, and that the hour of this su- premacy has arrived is, I think, apparent by the facts which I have mentioned, supported as they are by the strong corroborating circumstance, that hundreds are now daily quitting the other towns to resort to this. The consequences of its rapid growth, and the extraordinary medley of which its population is composed, serve to give something of a peculiar character to New York. Cadwallader tells me that, with perhaps the exception of New Orleans, it is the only city in the Union that has not the air of a provincial town. For my own part, I have found in it such a melange of customs, na- tions, society, and manners, all tempered, without being destroyed, by the institutions and opinions of the country, that I despair of conveying a correct idea of either by description. We shall have more definite data in speaking of its unpre- cedented growth. In 1756, the city of New York contained 13,000 souls; in 1790, 33,000; in 1800, 60,000; in 1810, 96,000 J in 1820, 123,000; and, in 1825, iJ- ; V- n: • U' I ^^ 166 INCREASE. REASONS FOR A VARIATION. :i t *' 166,000.* The latter enumeration is exclusive of Brooklyn, a flourishing village which has arisen within the last half dozen years from next to nothing ; which, from its position and connection with the city, is in truth no more than a suburb differently governed ; and which in itself contains about 10,000 souls. By the foregoing statement, you will see that, while the growth of New York has been rather regular than otherwise, its population has doubled withi:^ the last thirty-five years nearly at the rate of once in fifteen years. Between 1790 and 1800, the comparative increase was the greatest. This was probably owing to the fact that it was the moment when the peculiar situation of the world gave an extraordinary impulse to the American commerce. Between 1800 and 1820, were felt the effects of a highly thriving trade, the reaction of embargos, non-intercourse and war, and the relative stagnation attendant on the return of business to its more natural channels. The ex- traordinary increase in the last five years, during a period of ordinary commerce, is, I think, to be imputed to the accessions obtained by the silent acquiescence of her rivals in the future supremacy of this town as the great mart of the nation. To what height, or how long this latter cause may serve to push the accumulation of New York be- yond what would be its natural growth, exceeds * It is supposed to contain about 200,000 at the present moment. £S'11MA'H:S OF FUTUIIE SIZE. 107 my ability to estimate. Though it may receive checks from the variety of causes w^hich affect all prosperity, it w^ill probably be some years before the influence of this revolution in opinion shall entirely cease j after which period, the growth of the city must be more regular, though always in proportion to the infant vigour of the whole country. It is a curious calculation, and one in which the Americans very naturally love to indulge, to esti- mate the importance of this place at no very dis- tant day. If the rate of increase for the last thirty- five years (or the whole period when the present institutions of the country have had an influence on its advancement) is to be taken as a guide for the future, the city of New York will contain about 900,000 souls in the year 1860. Prodigious as this estimate may at first seem, it can be sup- ported by arguments of a weight and truth of which you are most probably ignorant. Notwith- standing the buoyant character of this nation's prosperity, and the well-known fact that the growth of towns is by no means subject to the same general laws as that of countries, were it not for one circumstance, I should scarcely pre- sume to hazard a calculation which wears the air of extravagance by its very amount, since, by merely adding another fifteen years, you have the largest town in Christendom as the reward of your addition. But, in point of fact, in order to keep I n ,. ''' . 1 ■; » ■ V, .ml f t '^i .11 ■ . fj I it in m i I*' t JGR AMF.RICAN ANTICIPATIONS. pace with the progress of things in this extraor- dinary vjountry, something like that which else- where might be termed extravagance of anticipa- tion becomes absolutely necessary. Although the ideas of my companion are reasonably regulated by an extensive acquaintance with the eastern hemis- phere, T confess I have been startled with the entire gravity with which he sometimes speaks of the power of the United States ; not as an event to affect the fortunes of future ages, but as a thing that would be operative in the time of our own children, dear Baron, had notour egotistical habits left us without the hope of living in those who come after us. But when he paused this morning in our promenade through the Broadway, a noble street that runs for two miles through the heart of the place, and pointed out the limits of the city* as he himself had known them in his boyhood, and then desired me to look along the fine vista in front, which I knew was supported by vast masses of buildings on each of its sides, I felt the force of the reasons he had for entertaining opinions, that to me had just before seemed visionary. The circumstance to which this town is to be indebted for most of its future greatness, is the immense and unprecedented range of interior which, by a bold and noble effort of policy, has recently been made tributary to its interests. By examining the map of the United States, you can IMMENSE INTERIOU iUADE. 169 easily make yourself master of all the facts neces- sary to a perfect understanding of what I mean. The river Hudson runs northward from New York for the distance of about two hundred miles. It is navigable for large sloops to Waterford, a place that is situated near the junction of the Mohawk with the former river, and at a distance a little ex- ceeding one hundred and fifty miles from this city. Sixty miles further north brings one to the he?,d of Lake Champlain, which separates Vermont from New York, and communicates with the St. Law- rence by means of a navigable outlet. By fol- lowing the route of the Mohawk westward, you pass directly through the he^rt of this flourishing state, until you reach a place called Rome, whence the country to Lake Erie was found to be perfectly practicable for water communication. Once in Lake Erie, it is possible to extend a domestic trade, by means of those little inland, fresh-water seas, through a fertile and rapidly growing coun- try, for a distance of near or quite fifteen hundred miles further. As if this were not enough. Nature has placed the head waters of the Mississippi so near the navigable tributaries of the lakes Mi- chigan, Superior, and Erie, that there is nothing visionary in predicting that artificial communica- tion will soon bring them into absolute contact. It is a matter of dispute with whom the bold idea of connecting the waters of the lakes with those of the Hudson originated. The fact will proba- ff ti jp iftiii ■ -C4 °1 !i ill] 1 m R 170 MR. CLINTON. bly never be known, since the thoughts of one may have been quickened by those of another, the spe- culations of each successor enlarging on those of him who wentbefore^ until the plaint of some Indian that nature had denied a passage to his canoe from the Mohawk into a stream of the lesser lakes, has probably given birth to them all. But there can be no question as to the individual, who, in a government so particularly cautious of its expen- ditures, has dared to stake his political fortunes on the success of the hazardous undertaking. Mr. Clinton, the present governor of this state, is the only highly responsible political man who can justly lay claim to be the parent of the project. For many years, I am told w^as persecuted as a visionary projector, ant was clear that his downfal was to be the penalty of failure ; though now that success is certain, or rather realized, there are hundreds ready to depreciate his merits, and not a few willing to share in all his honours. But these are no more than the detractions which are known every where to sully the brightness of a new reputation. Time will remove them all, since posterity never fails to restore with interest that portion of fame which is temporarily abstracted by the envy or the hostility of contemporaries. The plan has been to reject the use of all the rivers, except as feeders, and to make two canals, one from the Lake Champlain, and the other from the Lake Erie, which were to meet at the junction y* U GUTAT CANALS. A CASE. 171 of the Mohawk and the Hudson, whence they are to proceed to Albany, and issue into the latter river. The former of these canals is about sixty miles in length, and the other three hundred and fifty. The work was commenced in the year 1817, and is already nearly completed.* Really reflection on this subject is likely to de- range the ideas of the gravest man. Imagine, for instance, that Africa were a populous and civilized region ; that Spain were peopled by an active and enlightened population; that their habits were highly commercial ; and then assume that Gib- ralter was not only one of the most noble, con- venient and safe havens of the world, but that, from its central position, it had secured an ascen- dancy in European trade. Remove all serious rivals which chance or industry had raised in the other parts of Europe, to the prosperity of this unrivalled mart, placing it already foremost among the cities of our hemisphere. Then, sup- pose the Mediterranean, with all its tributaries, a narrow, convenient river, having direct com- * 1828. It is now not only finished, but is so eminently success- ful, that it has given rise to a multitude of similar works, one of which, to connect the waters of the Ohio with Lake Erie, is already far advanced, and will open an inland water communication between New York and New Orleans, a distance of more than 2000 miles. The tolls oU the Erie canal amounted the last year (1827) to 850,000 dollars, leaving a large surplus, after paying the interest on the money borrowed for its construction, and all charges of repairs, ' &c. &c. i 1 f| 1 \ w Ml'! i >f.W I m ■ ■]■■■ I' J t ; I '4 t ill f. I V < 172 IIJSTIUCATION OF FUTURE fcXPKCTATlONS. munication with vast lakes, whose banks were peopled by men of similar educations and opinions, wants and wishes, governed by the same policy, and subject to the same general laws, and I commit you to your own imaginative [jowers to fancy what the place would become in the space of a century. With these views unavoidedly before the eye, it is difficult to descend to the sober reality of ex- isting things. I can now easily understand the perspective of American character. It is abso- lutely necessary to destroy thought, to repress it. 1 fear we owe a good deal of our exemption from the quality we laugh at, from the same penetrat- ing faculty of the mind. A state of things may easily exist, in which it is quite as pleasant to look back as forward ; but here, though the brief retrospect be so creditable, it absolutely sinks into insignificance compared with the mighty futuie. These people have clearly only to con- tinue discreet, to be foremost among the nations of the earth, and that too, most probably, before the discussion as to their future fate shall be for- gotten. While a subject so great is intensely pressing itself on the mind, as it unavoidably must on that of every intelligent stranger who has sufficient philanthropy to regard with steadiness the pros- perity of a people who may so soon be a formidable rival, it is difficult to descend to those more imma- terial and evanescent customs and appearances ! ,■ HOUSFS: THErU MODERN COVSTRUCTfOV. 173 that mark lue condition of the present hour. Still they are of importance as they may influence the future, and are not without interest by their pecu- liarities and national characteristics. In construction, New York embraces every variety of house, between that of the second-rate English town residence, and those temporary wooden tenements that are seen in the skirts of most large cities. I do not think, however, that those absolutely miserable, filthy abodes which are often seen in Europe, abound here. The houses of the poor are not indeed large, like those in which families on the continent are piled on one another for six c seven stories, but they are rarely old and tottering; for the growth of the place, which, by its insular situation, is confined to one direction, forces them out of existence before they have had time to decay. I have been told, and I think it probable, that there are not five hundred buildings in New York, that can date further back than the peace of '83. A few old Dutch dwellings yet remain, and can easily be distinguished by their little bricks, their gables to the street, and those steps on their battlement walls, which your countrymen are said to have invented, in order to ascend to regulate the iron weathercocks at every variation of the fickle winds. Although poverty has no permanent abode, yet New York has its distinct quarters. I think they are sufficiently known and understood. Com- vm i( ; ^ n J 74 PKtUMAIUTV OF A PPEARA NC K. l^ merce is gradually taking possession of the whole of the lower extremity of the island, though the bay, the battery, and the charming Broadway, still cause many of the affluent to depart with reluctance. The fashion of the place is gradually collecting on the highest and healthiest point of land, "where its votaries may be equally removed from the bustle of the two rivers (for the strait is strangely enough called a river), while other portions are devoted to the labouring classes, manufacturers, and the thousand pursuits of a sea-port. In outward appearance, New York, but for two things, would resemble a part of London that should include fair proportions of Westminster (without the great houses and recent improve- ments), the city, and Wapping. The points of difference are owing to the fact that, probably without an exception, the exterior of all the houses are painted, and that there is scarce a street in the place which is not more or less lined with trees. The former fashion, unquestionably derived from your countrymen, gives the town a lively and cheerful air, for which I was a long time puzzled to account. At first I imputed it to the brightness of the atmosphere, whic.i differs but little from that of Italy ; and then I thought it might be owing to the general animation and . life that pervaded all the principal streets. Cad- wallader explained the causes, and added, that iif PUBMC BUILDINGS. — CITY HALF,. 175 H : the custom was nearly peculiar (with the excep- tion of wooden buildings) to the towns in the ancient colony of the United Provinces. The common practice is to deepen the colour of the bricks by a red paint, and then to interlire them with white ; a fashion that scarcely alters their original .appearance, except by imparting a neat- ness and freshness that are exceedingly pleasant. But, in many instances, I saw dwellings of a lively cream colour ; and there are also several varieties of stone that seem to be getting much in use latterly. The principal edifice is the City Hall, a building in which the courts are held, the city authorities assemble, and the public offices are kept. This building is oddly enough composed of two sorts of stone, which impairs its simplicity, and gives it a patched and party-coloured appearance. Neither is its facade in good taste, being too much in detail, a fault the ancients were not fond of committing. Notwithstanding these glaring de- fects, by aid of its material, a clear white marble, and the admirable atmosphere, it at first strikes one more agreeably than many a better edifice. Its rear is of a deep red, dullish free-stone, and in a far better taste. It is not unlike the facade of the Hotel des Monnaies at Paris; though not quite so large, more wrought, and 1 think something handsomer. . v . : The moment the rear of the City Hall was seen. S ) I I i' ■I " i I w \* I )>' 1. ■ i^j i If Hi 176 MATERIAL FOR BUILDIlVfGS. CHURCHES. '!|'1 , I was struck with an impression of the magnifi- cent effect which might be produced by the use of its material in gothic architecture. It seems to me to be the precise colour that good taste would select for the style, and the stone possesses the advantage of being easily worked, and is far less fragile than the common building materials of the vicinity of Paris. While the modern gothic is much condemned, every body appears willing to admit that it is the most imposing style for churches. I can see no reason why that which every body likes should not be done; and nothing is easier than to omit those horrible images and excrescences which we should not tolerate in the finest cathedrals of Europe, if they did not furnish unequivocal evidences of the humours of the age in which they were carved. New York is rich in churches, if number alone be considered. I saw more than a dozen in the process of construction, and there is scarce a street of any magnitude that does not possess one. There must be at least a hundred, and there may be many more. But in a country where the state does not meddle with religion, une is not to look for much splendour in its religious edifices. Private munificence cannot equal the expenditures of a community. Besides, I am told it is a laudable practice of the rich in this country, instead of concentrating their efforts to rear up one magnificent monument of their LIIJKKAJ.ITV OF RKlJCilOl S SKvTS. 17: liberality, to bestow sufficient to meet the wants of a particular parish in a style suited to its charjicter, and then to give, freely, aid to some other congrega- tion of their faith that may be struggling into exist- ence, perhaps, in a distant part of the country. In- deed, instances are said to be frequent, in which af- fluent men contribute cheerfully and liberally to as- sist in the erection of churches of a persuasion diffe- rent from their own. You are to recollect that a terri- tory large as a third of Europe, has to be furnished with places of worship by a population which does not exceed that of Prussia, and that too by volun- tary contributions. In estimating what has been done in America in all things, it is absolutely ne- cessary to do justice, and for a right understand- ing of the case, to remember the time, the means, and the amount that was to be executed. An honest consideration of these material points can alone show the true character of the country. For my own part, when I reflect on the extended division of the inhabitants, and on the absolute necessity of so much of their eflbrts being expended in meeting the first wants of civilized life, I am astonished to find how much they have done to embellish and improve it. Under this view of the subject, though certainly under no other, even their works of art become highly respectable. There is not much pretension to good taste in a great majority of their public edifices, nor is there much more ground to claim it in any other country, so VOL. I. N i n ■tO-i i: 178 CHURCHES. TASTE. RELIGION'. i I far as modern architecture is concerned. Most of the churches in New York are of brick, and con- structed internally, with direct reference to the comfort of the congregations, who, as you know, in most Protestant countries, remain when they once enter the temple. There are, however, some churches in this city that would make a creditable appearance any where among similar modern constructions ; but it is in the number, rather than in the elegance of these buildings, that the Americans have reason to pride them- selves. Whatever you may have heard concerning neglect of religion on this side of the water, so far as the portion of the country I have seen is concerned, disbelieve. It is the language of malice and not of truth. So far as the human eye can judge, there is at least as much respect paid to religion in the northern and middle states, as in any part of the world I have ever visited. Were the religion ofEurope to be stripped of its externals, and to lose that deference which the influence of the state and of the clergy produces, among a poor who are so dependant ; in short, were man left to himself, or subject only to the impulses of public opinion, and the influence of voluntary instruction, as here, I am persuaded it v/ould be found that there is vastly more. There is much cant, and much abuse of cant, in America, just as elsewhere ; but I have been in numberless APPARENT ATTEXTIOX TO llELIGIOX. 179 churches here ; watched the people in their in- gress and egress ; have examined the crowd of men no less than of women, that followed the summons of the parish bell ; and, in fine, have studied all their habits on those points which the conscience may be supposed to influence, and, taking town and country together, I should not know where to turn to find a population more uni- form in their devotions, more guarded in their dis- course, or more consistent in all their practices. No stronger proof can be given of the tone of the country in respect to religion than the fact, that men who wish to stand well in popular favour are compelled to fain it at least ; public opinion pro- ducing in this way, a far more manifest effect here than does state policy in our hemisphere. These remarks are of course only made in reference to what I have yet seen, but they may serve as a standard to compare by, when we shall come to speak of the other portions of the republic. My paper is exhausted, and I shall refer you to the colonel, whom I know you are to meet at Palermo, for a continuation of the subject on some of those branches in which his nicer tact may find peculiar sources of interest. — Adieu. N 2 1 1 ■ M i n \ i ■»■! -ii m j.i ■ * A ■ I. - ! '■'M ( 180 ) TO THE COUNT JULES DE BETHIZY, COLONEL EN RETRAITE OF THE IMPERIAL GUARD. New York, A MAN who has revelled so often on the delicacies of Very and Robert ; who has so long flourished with eclat in the saloons of the modern queen of cities ; who has sickened his taste under the arches of the Colliseum, or on the heights of the Acropolis, and who must have often cast a glance at that jewel of architectui 0, the Bourse of Paris, as he has hurried into its din to learn the fate of his last in- vestment in the three per cents of M. de Villele, may possibl)^ turn with disdain from a descrip- tion of the inartificial beauties of nature, a re- publican drawing-room, or a mall in a commercial town of North America. But you will remem- ber how often I have passed the bridge of Lodi in your company, (n^ethinks I hear the whizzing of the bullets now !) how patiently I have listened to your sonnets on the mien and mind of Sophie, and how meekly I have seen you discussing the fragments of a pate de foie gras, without so much as begrudging you a mouthful of the unctious morsel, though it were even the last. Presuming on this often tried, and seemingly inexhaustible patienoe, I shall proceed to trespass on your more elevated pursuits in the shape of one of my POPULATION OF \K\V VORK. 181 desultory accounts of the manners and mode of life of the grave burghers of New York. .^ .. I may say openly to you, what consideration for the national pride of Kemperfelt may have suppressed in my letters to him, that very little of its former usages can now be traced in the ancient capital of the New Netherlands. One hears certain sonorous names in the streets to remind him of the original colony, it is true, but with these rare memorials of the fact, and a few angular, sidelong edifices, that resemble broken fragments of prismatic ice, there is no other passing evidence of its former exist- ence. I have elsewhere said that the city of New York is composed of inhabitants from all the countries of Christendom, Beyond a doubt a very large majority, perhaps nine-tenths, are natives of the United States ; but it is not pro- bable that one- third who live here first saw the light on the island of Manhattan. It is computed that one in three are either natives of New England, or are descendants of those who have emigrated from that portion of the country. To these must be added the successors of the Dutch, the English, the French, the Scotch and the Irish, and not a few who came in their proper persons from the countries occupied by these several nations. In the midst of such a melange of customs and people, it is exceedingly difficult to extract any thing like a definite general character. ■ ) I i. • 1 I 1 ■'' ^V" ^ ■Sim Mil b Ml m 182 INFLUENCE OF THE YANKEES. MARKETS. Perhaps there is none that can be given, without great allowance, to this community. Though somewhat softened, a good deal of that which is distinctive between the puritans and their brethren of the other states, is said to continue to exist for a long period after their emigration. As the former generally go to those points where they are tempted by interest, in great numbers, it is proba- ble that they communicate quite as much, or, con- sidering their active habits, perhaps more, of cha- racter, than they receive. With these warnings, to take all I say with due allowance, I shall pro- ceed to mv task. To commence ab originey I shall speak of the products of nature, which, if endowed with suit- able capabilities, rarely fail of favour in your eyes. I know no spot of the habitable world to which the culinary sceptre is so likely to be transferred, when the art shall begin to decline in your own renowned capital, as this city. It is difficult to name fish, fowl, or beast that is not, either in its proper person, or in some species nearly allied to it, to be obtained in the markets of New York. The exceptions that do certainly occur, are more than balanced by the animals that are peculiar to the country. Of fish alone, a gentleman here, of a spirit not uncongenial to your own, has named between seventy and eighty varieties, all of which are edible; most of which are excellent; and some of whici:i it would be the pride of my heart Wii a. FISH, FOWL, (J A ME, ETC. 183 to see placed within the control of your scientific skill. Of fowls there are a rare and admirable collection ! I have had a list nearly, or quite as long as the catalogue of fishes placed before me, and it would do your digestive powers good to hear some of the semi-barbarous epicures of this provincial town expatiate on the merits of grouse, canvas-backs, brants, plover, wild turkies, and all the et ccBttras of the collection. In respect to the more vulgar products of regular agriculture I shall say nothing. They are to be found here, as elsewhere, with the exception, that, as a great deal is still left to nature, perfection and variety in vegetables is not as much attended to as in the vicinity of older and larger places. But of the game I may speak with confidence ; for, little as I have yet seen of it, H i^^ f ^ ^ II m 1 1 • 1'. ^ "i' ! n J, '] i |i' I , t. if f l/l^ a 'S t J ■ 18G DELICACY OK MKLONS AND PEACHES. watery, and almost sour taste. It is for this reason so often eaten with sugar. An American is ex- ceedingly apt to laugh if he sees ripe fruit of any sort eaten with any thing sweet. T' peaches here leave behind a warm, rich, anc delicious taste, that I can only liken in its effects to that which you call the bouquet of a glass of Romance. You who, as a Parisian, say so much for, and think so much of, your gdut, may be disposed to be incre- dulous when I tell you these people would posi- tively reject the best melon that ever appears on your table. There is a little one to be picked up in the markets here for a few sous, say twelve at the utmost, thai exceeds any thing, of its kind, that I have ever admitted into the sanctuary of my mouth. I want terms to describe it. It is firm, and yet tender; juicy, without a particle of the cold, watery taste we know, and of an incom- parable flavour and sweetness. Its equal can only be found in the Crimea, or the adjacent parts of Turkey, and perhaps of Persia. The Americans admit that it is the only melon that can appear on the table of one who understands the difference between eating and tasting, and to me it seems to have been especially created for an epicure. In the gardens of the gentlemen you find not only a greater variety, but, a few common fruits excepted, a far better quality than in the markets. I have tasted a great many old ac-? quaintances, transplanted from the eastern to the AUGUMENT OF CADWALLADEU. 187 western hemisphere, and 1 declare I do not re- member one that has not been benefited by the change, in flavour, though not always in appear- ance. It is a standing joke of Cadwallader to say his countrymen consult the substance much more than the shadow, when I venture to qualify my praises by some remark on externals. I remember, however, one day he effectually si- lenced my criticism, by leading me to a peach tree that grew in the shade of an adjacent building. The fruit was beautiful, exceedingly large, and without a blemish. Culling one of the finest, I bit it, and involuntarily rejected what I had so incautiously admitted to my mouth. Then placing a peach which had grown in the open air, into my hands, my con oanion pointed significantly to the sun, and walked on, leaving me to reflect on an argument that was more potent than a thousand words. And yet I have met, during my short residence in America, Europeans who have affected to rail at, or even to deny the existence of her fruits ! I have always wished, on such occasions, that I could transport the products of one of the la- boured gardens of our hemisphere into this, and set them to culling without a knowledge of the transfer. My life on it, their own palates would contradict their assertions in the first five minutes. Indeed, one has only to remember that the United States extend from forty-five to twenty- I 1 h ! Jf ^' m 'I'll ■pM ;*■■(<■» ■ ■ U :■ *-if I; «' . ill mm \SS l'K( I'LIAKITV Ol CI.IMATK. APFLKS, KTC. , >;. five degrees of latitude, to see that Nature has placed their dominions in the very centre of her most favoured regions. There is, too, a peculiarity of climate here, which is unknown to similar paral- lels of latitude in Europe. The apple and the peach are found in perfection, side by side ; and in such a perfection, too, as, believe me, dear colonel, you must seek for the equal of the one in Italy, and that of the other, I scarcely know where. Owing to the facility and const? ncy of inter- course with the Southern States, the fruits of the tropics are found here, not quite as fresh, cer- tainly, as when first culled from the plant itself, but well flavoured, and in absolute contact with the products of the temperate zones. Pine apples, large, rich, golden, and good, are sold from twelve to twenty-five sous ; delicious oranges are hawked in the streets much cheaper than a toler- able apple can be bought in the shops of Paris, and bannanas, yams, water-melons, &c., are as common as need be in the markets. It is this extraordinary combination of the effects of dif- ferent climates, the union of heat and cold, and of commercial facilities, added to the rare bounties of Nature, that incline me to think the empire of gastronomy will, sooner or later, be transferred to this spot. At present it must be confessed that the science is lamentably defective, and, after all, perhaps, it is in those places where Nature has been most liberal that man is apt to content him- STYLK OK LIVING. KMil.lSlI lOMrOHT. 189 self, without exerting those efforts of his own, with- out which no perfect enjoyment in any branch of human indulgence can exist. ' Passing from the means of gratification possessed by these people, we will turn our attention, for a moment, to the manner in which they are im- prov«;d. The style of living of all the Americans, in the Northern States, is essentially English. As might be expected in a country where labour is comparatively high, and the fortunes, though great, still not often so princely as in the mother country, the upper classes live in a more simple form, wanting some of the most reftned improve- ments of high English life, and yet indulging, under favour of their climate, situation and great commercial freedom, in perhaps a greater combi- nation of luxury and comfort than any other peo- ple of the world. In respect of comfort itself, there is scarce any known in England, that is not to be found here ; the point of difference is in its frequency. You are, therefore, to deduct rather in the amount of English comfort, than in its quality; and you are not to descend far below the refinements at all, since all the substantials of that comfort which makes England so remarkable in Europe, are to be found equally in America. There are points, perhaps, even in the latter, in which the Englishman (rarely very much dis- posed to complacency) would complain in Ame- rica ; and there are, certainly, others, on which I- \ W 1 1'l ■^■;,^*f'! m 190 CONDITION OF PEOPLE. U'^-t I) ' * ' the American (who has a cast of the family hke- ness) would boldly vent his spleen in England. I am of opinion the two nations might benefit a good deal by a critical examination of each other. Indeed, I think the American has, and does, daily profit by his observation, though I scarce know whether his kinsman is yet disposed to admit that he can learn by the study of a people so new, so remote, and so little known, as those of the United States. After you descend below the middle classes in society, there is no comparison to be drawn between the condition of the American and that of the native of England, or of any other place. I have seen misijry here, it is true, and filth, and squalid, abject poverty, always in the cities, however ; but it is rare ; that is, rare indeed to what I have been accustomed to see in Europe. At first, I confess there was a feeling of disap- pointment came over me at seeing it at all ; but reflection convinced me of the impossibility of literally bringing all men to a state in which they might profit by the advantages of their condition. Cadwallader, also, who has a silent, significant manner of conveying truths, has undeceived me more than orice when I have been on the very threshold of an error. I remember that one day, while I stood contemplating, in the suburbs of this city, a scene of misery that one might not have expected to witness out of Europe, he ad- ]i :i MANY OF THE POOR FOREIGXERS. ANECDOTE. 191 vanced to the door of the dreary hovel I gazed at, and asked the inhabitants how long they had resided in America. The answer proved that he had not deceived himself as to the birth-place of its luckless tenants. In this manner, in more than a dozen instances, he has proved that his own coun- try has not given birth to the vice and idleness which here could alone entail such want. In perhaps as many more instances he has passed on, shaking his head at my request that he would examine the causes, admitting frankly that he saw the subjects were natives. It is astonishing how ac- curate his eye is in making this distinction. I do not know that he has been deceived in a solitary instance. Where misery is so rare, it is a vast deal to admit, that perhaps half of its objects are the victims of a different system than that under which it is exhibited.* * Cadwallader related a little anecdote which goes to prove the danger of hasty conclusions. Shortly after the war, an English naval captain visited an estate of which he was the proprietor in the state of New York. He had occasion to get his carriage repaired in a village of the interior. My friend found him railing at the addic- tion of the Americans to the vice of intoxication. He had been to three mechanics that morning, to hasten the work, and two of them were too drunk to execute his orders. Cadwallader demanded the names of the two delinquents ; both of whom proved to be coun- trymen of the captain, while the only native American was the sober individual. The fact is, the poor of Europe, when they find them- selves transplanted into the abundance of America, are exceedingly apt to abuse the advantage. The Scotch, the Swiss, the French, 1 'k* ■ "f"' w k ■ ■■ - . -- \ ri' A a' 1,.' r. ■•;'' • (* Us " 'i. •) I , •!* I' .J -Mi ■W f IF •! iff 1 r- ' m 1 .•s ii ¥ 192 NEATNESS. liUIELIAXCV OF THE CMMATE. There is something exceedingly attractive in the exhibition of neatness and domestic comfort which one sees throughout this country. I think the bril- liancy of the climate, the freshness of the paint, and the exterior ornaments of the houses, contri- bute to the charm. There is a species of second rate, genteel houses, that abound in New York, into which I have looked when passing, with the utmost pleasure. They have, as usual, a story that is half sunk in the earth, receiving light from an area, and two floors above. The tenants of these buildings are chiefly merchants, or professional men, in moderate circumstances, who pay rents of from 300 to 500 dollars a year. You know that no American, who is at all comfortable in life, will share his dwelling with another. Each has his own roof, and his own little yard. These buildings are finished, and exceedingly well finished too, to the attics : containing, on the average, six rooms, besides , offices, and servants' apartments. The furniture of these houses is often elegant, and always neat. Mahogany abounds here, and is commonly used for all the principal articles, and very frequently for doors, railings of stairs, &c. &c. Indeed, the whole world contributes to their luxury. French clocks, English and Brussels car- pets, curtains from Lyons, and the Indies, ala- and the Germans, are said to be the most prudent, and the Irish and the English the most indiscreet. With the latter it often hap- pens that the vice we speak of is the actual cause of their emigration. > I FrRNlSUUK OF HOUSES. 103 baster from France and Italy, marble of their own, and from Italy, and, in short, every ornament below the rarest that is known in every other country in Christendom, and frequently out of it, is put within the reach of the American of moderate means, by the facilities of their trade. In that classical taste which has been so happily commu- nicated to your French artizans, their own are, without doubt, miserably deficient ; but they are good imitators, and there is no scarcity of models. While, in consequence of want of taste or want of wealth, the Americans possess, in very few instances, anyone of the articles that contribute to the grace of life in the same perfection as they are known in some one other country, they enjoy, by means of their unfettered trade, a combination of the same species of luxuries, in a less advanced state, that is found no where else. They often, nay, almost always, fail in the particular excel- lence, but they possess an aggregate of approxi- mate perfection that is unrivalled, perhaps, even in England ; certainly if we descend below the very highest classes in the latter country. , But there are hundreds, I believe I might almost say a thousand, houses in New York of preten- sions altogether superior to those just named. A particular description of one belonging to a friend of Cadwallader, by whose favour I was permitted to examine it, may serve to give you an idea of the whole of its class. The proprietor is a gentle- VOL. 1. u n- m 194 DESCRIPTION OF A PRIVATE RESIDENCE. man of the first society of the country, and of what is here called an easy fortune, though hun- dreds of his neighbours enjoy the goods of this world in a far greater degree than himself. The dwelling of Mr. is on the Broadway, one of the principal streets that runs on the height of land along the centre of the island, for the distance of about two miles. It is the fashionable mall of the city, and certainly, for gaiety, the beauty and grace of the beings who throng it, and, above all, the glorious sun that seems to reign here three days out of four, it may safely challenge competition with most if not any of the promenades of the old world. The house in question occupies, I should think, a front of about thirty-four feet on the Broadway, and extends into the rear between sixty and seventy more. There are no additions, the building ascending from the ground to its attics in the same proportions. The exterior necessarily presents a narrow, ill an anged facade, that puts architectural beauty a good deal at defiance. The most that can be done with such a front is to abstain from inappropriate ornament, and to aim at such an effect as shall convey a pro- per idea of the more substantial comforts, and of the neatness that predominate within. The build- ing is of bricks, painted and lined, as already described, and modestly ornamented, in a very good taste, with caps, sills, cornices, &c. &c. in the dark red freestone of the country. The house NEATNESS, l NCONVENfENCES, ETC. 195 is of four stories ; the lower, or rez de chaussee, being half sunk, as is very usual, below the surface of the ground, and the three upper possessing elevations well proportioned to the height of the edifice. The door is at one of the corners of the front, and is nearly on a ^evel with the windows of the first floor, which may commence at the dis- tance of about a dozen feet above the pavement of the street. To reach this door, it is necessary to mount a flight of steep, inconvenient steps, also in freestone, which compensate, in a slight degree, for the pain of the ascent, (neither of us, colonel, is as young now as the day you crossed the bridge of Lodi,) by their admirable neatness, and the perfect order of their iron rails and glittering brass ornaments. The entrance is into a little vestibule, which may be some twelve feet long, by eight in width. This apartment is entirely unfurnished, and appears only constructed to shelter visiters while the servant is approaching to admit them through the inner door. The general excellence of the climate, and, perhaps, the customs of the country, have, as yet, prevented the Americans from providing a proper place for the reception of the servants of their guests : they rarely wait, . unless during the short calls, and then it is always in the street. As visiters are never announced, and as but one family occupies the same building, there is little occasion, unless to assist in unrobing, for a servant to attend his master, or mistress, o 2 .■^.f^ I5». 196 MANNER OF FrNrsiIING FURNITURE. within the outer door. From the vestibule the entrance is into a long, narrow, high, and hand- some corridor, at the farther extremity of which are the principal stairs. This corridor, or passage, as it is called here, is carpeted, lighted with a hand- some lamp, has a table, and a few chairs ; and, in short, is just as unlike a French corridor as any thing of the sort can very well be. From this passage you enter the rooms on the first floor ; you ascend to the upper, and descend to the lower story, and you have egress from and ingress to the house by its front and rear. The first floor is occupied by two rooms that communicate by double doors. These apartments are of nearly equal size, and, subtracting the space occupied by the passage, and two little china closets, that partially separate them, they cover the whole area of the house. Each room is lighted by two windows ; is sufficiently high ; has stuccoed ceil- ing, and cornices in white ; hangings of light, airy, French paper ; curtains in silk and in mus- lin ; mantle-pieces of carved figures in white marble (Italian in manufacture, I should think) ; Brussels carpets ; large mirrors ; chairs, sofas, and tables, in mahogany ; chandeliers ; beautiful, neat, and highly wrought grates in the fire-places of home work; candelabras, lustres, &c. &c., much as one sees them all over Europe. In one of the rooms, however, is a spacious, heavy, ill-looking side-board, in mahogany, groaning with plate. DEFECTS ; BAD TASTE. 197 knife and spoon cases, all handsome enough, I allow, but s?dly out of place where they are seen. Here is the first great defect that I find in the ordering of American domestic economy. The eating, or dining-room, is almost invariably one of the best in the house. The custom is certainly of English origin, and takes its rise in the habit of sitting an hour or two after the cloth is re- moved, picking nuts, drinking wine, chatting, yawning, and gazing about the apartment. The first great improvement to be made in the house- hold of these people is to substitute taste for prodigality in their tables; and the second, I think, will be to choose an apartment for their meals, that shall be convenient to the offices, suited to the habits of the family, plain in its ornaments, and removed from the ordinary occu- pations of those who are to enjoy it. In some houses this is already partially effected ; but, as a rule, I am persuaded that the American guest, who should find himself introduced into a salle a manger as plain as that in which a French duke usually takes his repast, would not think his host a man who sufficiently understood the fitness of things. I have heard it said, that the occupant of the White House* gives his dinners in one of these plain rooms, and that the meanness of Con- gress is much laughed at because they do not order one better furnished for him. Certes if * The President of the United Stales. 1 / if * '¥ 4 ■| -a* if- M 198 KKFKCTS OF CLEAR ATMOSFJl KUK. El' 1 W: If 1 " • m 1 1|:: H ^'ff' rf U iM m '^ S' r 'i f' rai If M niiil^ •f ' ]! Ml F mm m 1 ■)2 ^i Congress never showed a worse taste than this, they might safely challenge criticism. As the president, or his wife, directs these matters, I suppose, however, the great national council is altogether innocent of the innovation. You ascend, by means of the stairs at the end of the passage, into what is here called the second story, but which, from the equivocal character of the basement, it is difficult to name correctly. This ascent is necessarily narrow, crowded, and incon- venient. The beautiful railings in mahogany and brass, and the admirable neatness of every part of an American house of any pretension, would serve to reconcile one to a thousand defects. As respects this cardinal point, I think there is little difference between the English and the Ameri- cans, at least, so far as I have yet seen the latter ; but the glorious sun of this climate illumines every thing to sach a degree, as to lend a quality of brightness that is rarely known in Britain. You know that a diamond will hardly glitter in London. It must also be remembered that an American house is kept in this order by the aid of perhaps one third of the domestics that would be employed in the mother country. On the second floor (or perhaps you will get a better idea if I call it the first) of the house of Mr. , there is a spacious saloon, which oc- cupies the whole width of the building, and possesses a corresponding breadth. This apart- ■I, .. MANNER OF WORKMANSHIP, ETC. 199 '■ I ment, being exclusively that of the mistress of the mansion, is furnished with rather more deli- cacy than those below. The curtains are in blue India damask, the chairs and sofa of the same coloured silk, and other things are made to cor- respond. The library of the husband is on the same floor, and between the two is a room which is used as a bed-chamber. The third story is appropriated to the sleeping-rooms of the family ; the attic to the same purpose for the servants, and the basement contains a nursery and the usual offices. The whole building is finished with great neatness, and with a solidity and accuracy of workmanship that it is rare to meet in Europe, out of England. The doors of the better rooms are of massive mahogany, and wherever wood is employed, it is used with great taste and skill. All the mantel-pieces are marble, all the floors are carpeted, and all the walls are finished in a firm, srcooth cement. I have been thus minute in my account, be- cause, in describing the house of Mr. , I am persuaded that I convey a general idea of those of all of the upper classes in the northern section of this country. There are, certainly, much larger and more pretending buildi^'.gs than his in New York, and many far richer and more highly wrought ; but this is the habitation of an Ameri- can in the very best society, who is in easy circumstances, of extensive and high connexions. f f4-\ |r^?i I: '- IP II 200 COMPAUI.SOX M'lTII OTHER DWELLIXtJS. and who receives a fair proportion of his ac- quaintances. By extending the building a little, adding something to the richness of the furniture, and now and then going as far as two or three cabinet pictures, you will embrace thj establish- ments of the most affluent ; and by curtailing the whole, perhaps, to the same degree, you will in- clude an immense majority of all that part of the community who can lay claim to belong to the class of ics gens comme il faiit. It is here, as elsewhere, a fact that the parvenus are com- monly the most lavish in their expenditures, either because money is a novelty, or, what is more probably the case, because they find it necessary to purchase consideration by its liberal use. We will now quit this dwelling, in which I am fond of acknowledging that I have been received with the most kind and polished hospitality, by its exe- crable flight of steps, and descend into the street. The New Yorkers (how much better is the word Manhattanese !) cherish the olumsy inconvenient entrances, I believe, as heir-looms of their Dutch progenitors. They are called " stoops," a word of whose derivation I am ignorant, though that may be of Holland too, and they are found dis- figuring the architecture, cumbering the side walks, and endangering the human neck, at- tached to the front doors of more than two thirds of the .dwellings of this city. A better taste is, however, gradually making its way, and houses shops; compauki) with i-ukncii housks. 201 with regular basements are seen, in which the occupants can ascend to their apartments without encountering: the dangers that in winter must fre- quently equal those of an ascent to the summit of Mont Blanc. You will see, by the foregoing description, that the family of an American gentleman in town, though not always so conveniently, is on the whole about as well lodged as the great majority of the similar class in your own country. The house of Mr. contains, including three capacious saloons, ten considerable rooms, besides offices, and servants' chambers. The deficiency is in the dining-room, in the inconvenience of the narrow stairs, and in the bad division of the principal apartments on the different floors; a fault that arises from the original construction of the building. Though the ornaments are in general more simple, the Americans have in very many things a great advantage. Profiting by their nearly unshackled commerce, they import any thing they choose, and adopt, or reject its use, as fancy dictates. Almost every article of foreign industry can be purchased here at a very small advance on the original cost, and in many instances even cheaper. Competition is so active, and information so uni- versal, and so rapidly imparted, that a monopoly can hardly exist for a week, and a glut is far more common than a scarcity. 1 !• If \i •'•!'• , :-■ 202 KF.ASONS FOR THE I NTKUM KDI ATK TASTE. S I "■ ■' You will also see by what I have written, that the Americans have not yet adopted a style of architecture of their own. Their houses are still essentially English, though neither the winters nor the summers of their climate would seem to recommend them. There is, however, something in the opposite characters of the two seasons, to render a choice difficult. A people in whose country the heats of Florence and the colds of St. Peters- burg periodically prevail, may well hesitate be- tween a marble fountain and a Russian stove. I am not certain that, considering |^ their pursuits, and the peculiarity of climate, they are very wrong in their present habits. But I shall for ever protest against the use of carpets, while the ther- mometer is at 90°, nor shall I soon cease to de- claim against those hideous excrescences called ** stoops." Beautiful, fragrant, and cool India mats, are) notwithstanding, much in use in mid- summer, in the better houses. Still, with all my efforts, I have not been able to iind a room to sleep in, that is not fortified with a Brussels, or a double English ingrain. The perspiration stands on my forehead while I write of them ! Another defect in the American establishments is the want of cabinets de toilette. They are certainly to be found in a few houses, but I have occupied a bed- room five and-twenty-feet square, in a house, other- wise convenient, that had not under its roof a . KQUIPAtiKS (O.MPAKKI) Willi KIKOPFAN. 203 single apartment of the sort. This is truly a sad prodigality of room, though space be unques- tionably so very desirable in a warm climate. I should think about the same proportion of the inhabitants keep carriages here as in France. But the ordinary coaches of the stands in New York are quite as good, and often far better than those voitures dc remise that one usually gets by the day in Paris. There is even a still better class of coaches to be ordered by the day, or hour, from the stables, which are much used by the inhabi- tants. The equipages of this city, with the exception of liveries, and heraldic blazonries, are very much like those of your own mighty capital. When I first landed, coming as I did from England, 1 thought the coaches so exceed- ingly light as to be mean ; but, too experienced a traveller to be precipitate, I waited for the old impressions to lose a little of their influence be- fore an opinion was formed, and in a short time I came to see their beauties. Cadwallader told me that when he first arrived in England, he v/as amazed at the clumsiness of the English vehicles, but that time, by rendering them familiar, soon changed his opinion. We went together lately to examine a coach from London, which its owner had abandoned, either in distaste, or because he found it unsuited to the country, and really it was calculated to renew all the original opinions of my friend. I have heard of an American who I 1^1 'k- Hi 'i Iv; lip. . ; mi m , ft, :~ i li I I'' (I ■h 204 KFFECTS OF HABIT ON THE TASTE. carried to England one of the light vehicles of his country, and after it had arrived, he was positively ashamed to exhibit it among its pon- derous rivals. In this manner do we all become the subjects of a capricious and varying taste that is miserably dependent on habit; a fact, simple as it is, which might teach moderation and modesty to all young travellers, and rather less dogmatism than is commonly found among some that are older — .Adieu. 'I* TO THE COMTE JULES DE BETHIZY, New York It may be premature to pretend to speak with any certainty concerning the true state of or- dinary American society. My opinions have already undergone two or three revolutions on the subject, for it is so easy, where no acknowledged distinctions prevail, for a stranger to glide imper- ceptibly from one circle to another, that the im- pressions they leave are very apt to be con- founded. I have never yet conversed with any declaimer on the bad tone of republican manners (and they are not wanting), who has not been ready enough to confess this, or that, individual MANNERS OF AMERICAN SOCIETY. 205 an eminent exception. Now, it never appears to enter into the heads of these Chesterfieldian critics, that the very individuals in question are so many members of a great class, that very well know how to marshal themselves in their ordinary intercourse with each other, although, to a stran- ger, they may seem no more than insulated excep- tions, floating, as it were by accident, on the bosom of a motley, and frequently far from inviting state of society. I think, however, that it is not diffi- cult to see, at a glance, that even the best bred people here maintain their intercourse among each other, under far fewer artificial forms than are to be found in almost any other country. Sim- plicity of deportment is usually the concomitant of good sense every where ; but, in America, it is particularly in good taste. It would be a gratuitous weakness in a people who have boldly denounced the dominion of courts, to descend to imitate the cumberous forms which are perhaps necessary to their existence, and which so insen- sibly get disseminated, in mawkish imitations, among those who live in their purlieus. Direct in their thoughts, above the necessity of any systematic counterfeiting, and in almost every instance, secure of the ordinary means of exist- ence, it is quite in nature that the American, in his daily communications, should consult the truth more, and conventional deception less, than those who are fettered and restrained by the thousand 206 LESS ARTIFICIAL THAN IX EUROPE. '.ai;-i, U-. !■, \ pressures of a highly artificial state of being. The boasted refinement of the most polished court in Europe is, after all, no more than expertness in a practice, which the Persian, with his semi-barba- rous education, understands better than the veriest courtier of them all. That rare and lofty courtesy, in which the party knows how to respect himself, by sacrificing no principle while he reconciles his companion to the stern character of his morals by grace of mien and charity to his weaknesses, is, I think, quite as common here as we are wont to find it in Europe. In respect to those purely con- ventional forms, that receive value only from their use, and which are so highly prized by weak minds, because so completely within their reach, and which even become familiar to strong ones from an indisposition to dispute their sway, are in no great favour here. Perhaps the circum- stance that people of education, fortune, connec- tions, and, of course, of similar turn of mind, are so much separated by the peculiarity of the state governments, into the coteries of twenty capital towns instead of those of one, is the chief reason that they are neglected ; for all experience proves that fashion is a folly which merely needs soil to take deep root. Indeed I am not sure that this species of exotic will not, at some future day, luxuriate in America to a greater degree, than it even thrives in the fertile regions of the east. It is certain, that in England, the country most re- "if. INFLUENCE OF FASHION. 207 sembling this, fashionable society is more tramelled by fictitious forms, both of speech and deportment, than in any other European nation. Every where else, after certain sacrifices are made to decep- tion and the self-love of second persons, the actor is left to play his part at the instigations of nature; but in England there is a fashion for drinking a glass of wine, for pronouncing, and wzi^pronounc- ing a word, for even perverting its meaning, for being polite, and what is still more strange, some- times for being rude and vulgar. Any one who has lived twenty years may recal a multitude of changes that have occurred in the most che- rished usages of what is called good-breeding. Now, there must be a reason for all this whimsical absurdity. Is it not owing to the peculiarly va- cillating nature of her aristocracy ? In a country where wealth is constantly bringing new claim- ants for consideration into the arena of fashion, (for it is, after all, no more than a struggle for noto- riety that may be more bloodless, but is not less bitter than that of the gladiators,) those who are in its possession contrive all possible means of dis- tinction between themselves and those who are about to dispute their ascendancy. Beyond a doubt what is called high English society, is more repulsive, artificial and cumbered, and, in short, more absurd and frequently less graceful than-that of any other European nation. Still the EngUsh are a rational, sound, highly reasoning, manly and enlightened people. It is difficult to I-*' § HJ t '' .i-'iv:« 4s r ft f 1 'i1 i ^'M m a n 208 LESS DESPOTIC IIEIIE. It' It; m :'■ f account for the inconsistency, but by believing that the struggle for supremacy gives birth to every species of high-bred folly, among which is to be numbered no small portion of customs that vt^ould be more honoured in the breach than in the observance. If like causes are always to produce like effects, the day may come when the same reasons shall induce the American fashionables of two genera- tions to lead the fashionables of one, a similar wild goose chase in quest of the ne plus ultra of elegance. As the fact now stands, the accessions to the coteries are so very numerous, and are com- monly made with strides so rapid, that it is as yet, fortunately, more likely to give distinction to be rationally polite, than genteely vulgar. Of one truth, however, I am firmly persuaded, that nineteen out of twenty of the strangers who visit this country, can give no correct analysis of the manners which prevail in the different circles that divide this, like all other great communities. The pursuits and the inclinations of the men bring them much oftener together than those of the women. It is therefore among the females that the nicer and more delicate shades of distinction are to be sought. The very prevalent notion of Europe, that society must, of necessity, exist, in a pure democracy, on terms of promiscuous ?s- sociation, is too manifestly absurd to need any contradiction with one who knov/s life as well as yourself. INFLtKNCE OF TALENTS, MOXEV, AND BIRTH. 209 It would require the magical power which that renowned philanthropist, Mr. Owen, ascribes to his system, to destroy the influence of educa- tion, talents, money, or even of birth. They all, in fact, exist in America, just as they do with us, only modified, and in some degree curtailed. You may perhaps be startled to hear of distinction conferred by birth among a people whose laws deny it a single privilege or im- munity. Even thousands of Americans them- selves, who have scarcely descended into their own system farther than is absolutely requisite to acquire its general maxims, will stoutly maintain that it has no reality. I remember to have heard one of these generalizers characterise the folly of a young acquaintance by saying, with peculiar bitterness of tone, " he presumes on his being the son of ." Now, if some portion of the consideration of the father were not trans- missible to the descendant, the latter clearly could in no degree presume on his birth. It is fortunate here, as elsewhere, to be the child of a worthy, or even of an affluent parent. The goods of the latter descend, by process of law, to the offspring, and, by aid of public opinion, the son receives some portion of the renown that has been earned by the merit of the father. It is use- less to dwell on those secret and deep rooted feelings by which man, in all ages, and under every circumstance, has been willing to permit VOL. I. p i iJ i'Wi . '!> ■' f nh i". 210 now FAR BIRTH IS RESPECTED. S M ' m m^ this hereditary reflection of character, in order to prove that human nature must have sway in the republics of North America, as in the monarchies of the east. A thousand examples might be quoted to show that the influence of this senti- ment of birth, (just so far as it is a sentiment and not a prejudice,) in not only felt by the people, but is openly acknowledged by the government of the country in its practices. Unless I am grossly misinformed, the relative of one who had served the state, for instance, would, cceteris paribus^ prevail in an application for the public favour, over a competitor who could urge no such additional claim ; and the reason of the decision would be deemed satisfactory by the nation. No one would be hardy enough to deny, that, had Washington left a child, he would have passed through society, or even before the public, on a perfect equality with men similarly endowed, though not similarly born. Just as this here- ditary advantage would be true in the case of a son of Washington, it is true, with a lessened effect, in those of other men. It would be a weak and a vain, becausa an impracticable and an unwise attempt, in any people, to reject so sweet an incentive to virtue on the part of the parent, or so noble a motive of emulation on that of the child. It is enough for the most democratic opinions, that the feeling should be kept within the limits of reason. The community, in a government tram- REASONS FOR THE SAME. 211 melled by so few factitious forms, always holds in its own power a sufficient check on the abuse of the privilege ; and here, in fact, is to be found the true point of distinction, not only between the governments of this and other countries, but be- tween the conditions of their ordinary society also. In America, while the claims of individuals are admitted, it is easy to satisfy, to weaken, or to lose them. It is not enough simply to be the son of a great man ; in order to render it of essential advantage, some portion of his merit must become hereditary, or the claim had better be suppressed. Even an honourable name may become matter of reproach, since, when the public esteem is once forfeited, the recollection of the ancestor only serves to heighten the demerit of his delinquent child. There is no privileged rank under which he can stalk abroad and flout at the morals, or offend the honesty of men better than himself, and the councils of the nation are for ever her- metically sealed against his entrance. In society, the punishment of this unworthi- ness, though necessarily less imposing, is scarcely less direct and salutary. Nothing is easier than for a men.ber of any circle to forfeit the pri- vileges of caste. It is a fact highly credit- able to the morals of this people, unless close ob- servation and the opinions of Cadwallader greatly mislead me, that a circle confessedly inferior will not receive an outcast from one above it. The p2 fi'tfl • < ;!. »■ .*., I'. • III: 1 ;|ffl m t- , i i '■ H " w m '■ 1 1 i t« 'II ' ( ' i F ' »', i ?/• 212 MORALS XECKSSARY TO IXFLUEXCF.. great qualifications for all are, in moral essentials, the same. It is not pretended that all men, or even all women, in the United States, are exemplary in their habits, or that they live in a state of entire innocence, compared with that of their fellow mor- tals elsewhere ; but there is not a doubt that the tone of manners here requires the utmost seemliness of deportment •, that suspicion even may become dangerous to a man, and is almost always fatal to a woman ; and that as access to the circles is effected with less difficulty than with us, so is the path of egress much more readily to be found. There is a very summary way of accounting for these things, by saying that all this is no more than the result of a simple state of society, and that in the absence of luxury, and espe- cially in a country where the population is scat- tered^ the result is precisely that which was to be expected. Why then is not the tone of manners as high in South as in North America, or why are the moralists in the cities quite asfastidious,or even more so, than those on the most remote borders ? The truth is, that neither the polity nor the man- ners of the Americans bear that recent origin we are wont to give them. Both have substantially endured the test of two centuries; and though they are becoming meliorated and more accom- modating by time, it is idle to say that they are merely the experiments of the hour. Nor is it very safe to ascribe any quality, good or bad, to LUXUKIKS QLITE COMMON. 213 the Americans on account of their being removed from the temptations of luxury. Th at they have abstained from excessive indulgence, is more the effect of taste or principle, than of necessity. I have never yet visited any country where luxuries were so completely within the reach of the majority. It is true that their manners are not exposed to the temptations of courts ; but it is equally true that they have deliberately rejected the use of such a form of government as renders them necessary. Before leaving this subject I must explain a little, or what I have already written may possibly lead you into error. The influence of birth, though undoubted, is not to be understood ts existing here in any thing like the extent, or c en under the same forms, as in Europe.* The very nation, which, in tenderness to .-he father, might be if "J u- L ;■ ' oflij i''t 1 ff1ll|K k li m ■It M' * We have the authority of a great contemporary (the biographer of Napoleon) for believing that the science of heraldry reverses the inferences of reason, by shedding more lustre on the remote descen- dant than on the founder of an illustrious name. This is, at the best, but an equivocal acknowledgment, and it is tmdeniably far too sublimated for the straight going common sense of the Americans. The writer is incliii'^d to believe that the very opposite ground is maintained by the proficieiits in American heraldry, or, in other words, that the great man himself is thought to be the greatest man of his family, and that the reflection of his talents, probity, couragCj or for whatever quality he may have been most remarkable, is thought to shed most lustre on those of his offspring who have lived nearest to its influence* i it: 214 AXtXUOTE OK A I AU.MKIl. disposed to accord a certain deference to the child who had received his early impressions under such a man as Washington, would be very apt to turn a cold and displeased eye on the follies or vices of a more distant descendant. You may be pre- pared to answer, *all this reads well, but we will wait the effects of time on a system that pretends to elevate itself above the established prejudices of the rest of the world.' But in what is reason weaker than prejudice, after its conclusions have been confirmed by practice? I repeat, these people are not experimenting, but living in conformity to usages, and under institutions that have already been subject to the trials of two hundred years. So far as I can learn, instead of imperceptibly falling into the train of European ideas, they have rather been silently receding ; and if there has been the least approximation between the opinions of the two hemispheres on these sub- jects, the change has been wrought among our- selves. While travelling in the interior of New England, an honest looking farmer endeavoured to read the blazonry that, by the negligf^nce of a servant, had been suffered to remain on the plate of one of my travelling cases. I endeavoured to solve the difficulties of the good man by explain- ing the use and meaning of the arms. No sooner did the American find that I was disposed to humour his curiosity, than he asked several home questions, that, it must be confessed, were not ) 1 1^ ANECDOTE CONTlNUtl). 215 without their embarrassment. It was necessary finally to tell him that these were distinctions that had been conferred by different sovereigns on the ancestors of the owner of the case. " If there is no harm in't, may I ask for what?" " For their courage in battle, and devotion to their princes.** The worthy republican regarded the plate for some time intently ; and then bluntly inquired " if this was all the reward they had received ?" As it was useless to contend against the prejudices of an ignorant man, a retreat ' was effected as soon as convenient.* Notwithstanding these instances of ignorance, the mass of the people are surpris- ingly familiar with the divisions of a society that is so difTerent from their own. While alluding to armorial bearings, it may be well to add, that I saw a great number, emblazoned in difFe- I * The simplicity which one finds on these subjects in America, is often not without amusement. The general use of books, and the multitude of journals in the United States, certainly prevent the inhabitants of the country from being as ignorant of the usages of Europe, as the people of Europe, even oi the better classes, are commonly of them ; still there are thousands who form droll opi- nions on the subject of our distinctive habits. A German prince of the family of Saxe Weimar, was travelling in the United States during the visit of the writer. He made himself acceptable every where, by his simplicity and good sense. A little crowd had col« lected round an inn where he had stopped, and a new comer in- quired of one of his acquaintance, ** why he stared at the big man in the piazza ?" " Oh, for nothing at all, only they say he is a Duke !'* " A Duke ! I wonder what he does for a living ?" 216 AKMOKIAL iJEAUlNGS. 1 .1 !. n . W: ii y I rent materials, suspended from the walls of the dwellings, especially in New England. They are frequently seen on carriages, and perhaps oftener still on watch seals. My travelling companion was asked to explain why these evidences of an aristocratical feeling were seen among a people so thoroughly democratic. The substance of his answer shall be given : •* Though the Americans do not always venerate their ancestors, for pre- cisely the same reasons as are acknowledged in Europe, they are nevertheless descended from the same sort of progenitors. Those who emigrated to this hemisphere, brought with them most of the opinions of the old world. Such of them as bore coats of arms did not forget the distinction, and those that you see are the relics of times long since past. They have not ocen disposed of, for no other reason that I can discover, than because it is difficult to find a use for them. Most of the trinkets are heir-looms ; though many individuals find a personal convenience in the use of seals which are appropriate to themselves. There are others who openly adopt arms for the sake of this convenience, sometimes rejecting those which have long been used by their families, simply be- cause they are not sufficiently exclusive; and there are certainly some who are willing to creep under the mantle of gentility at so cheap a rate. Foreigners, when they see these exhibitions, and find self-established heralds in the shane of AKISTOCHATIC tSAGKS DISA PPt A KI N(i. 2l7 seal cutters, kc. in the country, sometimes believe that wealth is gradually producing a change in the manners of the people to the prejudice of de- mocracy. But they fall into an egregious error. The fact is, that even this innocent, though perhaps absurd vanity, is getting rapidly into disuse, together with most of the other distinc- tive usages of orders in society, that are not purely connected with character and deportment. No one, for instance, thinks now of exhibit- ing the arms on any portion of the dwelling, in hatchments, or on tomb-stones, though all were practised openly within thirty years. Liveries are scarcely so frequent now as formerly, while coaches, coac\men, and footmen are multiplied fifty-fold. In short, the whole country, not only in its government, but in all its habits, is daily getting to be more purely democratic, in- stead of making the smallest approaches to the opposite extreme. I state this merely as a fact that any well-informed American will corrobo- rate, leaving you to your own reasoning and in- ferences." It is a peculiar feature of American democracy, and it is one which marks its ancient date and its entire security, that it is unaccompanied by any jealousy of aristocracy beyond that which dis- tinguishes the usual rancour of personal envy. One may sometimes hear remarks that denote the \'V ' I I 218 INSTANCES OF SUCCESSION TO OFFICE. sourness of an unsuccessful rivalry, but the feel- ing can no where be traced in the conduct of the nation. The little states of Connecticut and Rhode Island contain, beyond a doubt, the two most purely democratic communities in the civi- lized world. Ir both, the public will is obeyed with the submission that a despot would exact ; and, in the latter, it is consulted to a minuteness of detail that would be inconvenient, if not imprac- ticable, in a community of more extended interests. Now, mark one effect of this excessive democracy which you n^ay not be prepared to expect. No less than three governors of Connecticut have been named to me, who, in due progress of time, and at suitable ages, have been selected to sit in the chair which their fathers had filled with credit. Many inferior offices also exist, which, were it not for the annual decision of the people, might be thought to have become hereditary in certain families. Here is proof that the sovereign people can be as stable in their will, as the will of any other sove- reign. Of the five presidents who have filled the chair, since the adoption of the present constitution in 1789, but one has left a son. That son is now a candidate for the same high office ; and though the circumstance, amid a thousand other absur- * The writer was assured that the office of Secretary of State, ill Rhode Island, had been in one family for near seventy years. ^ ■X- . ■' SOCIETY OF NEW YORK. 219 dities, is sometimes urged against his election, it is plain there is not a man in the whole nation who deems it of the least importance.* As might be expected, the general society of New York bears a strong impression of its com- mercial character. In consequence of the rapid growth of the city, the number of families that may be properly classed among those which have long been distinguished in its history for their wealth and importance, bears a much smaller proportion to its entire population than that of most other places. A great many of the principal personages were swept away by the Revolution. Under these constant and progressive changes, as might be expected, the influence of their manners is, I think, less perceptible than, for instance, in Philadelphia. Still, a much larger class of what in Europe forms the ^lite of society exists here, than strangers commonly suppose. My letters first threw me, as a matter of course, among the mercantile men; and I found that mixture of manners, information, and character, that distin- guish the class every where. It was my lot frequently to occupy a seat at a banquet between some fine, spirited, intelligent individual, whose mind and manners had been improved by travel and education, and, perhaps, another votary of Plutus, (one hardly dare say of Mercury, in this * Mr. John Quincy Adams : he was chosen the following winter, and is now president. ■ . *« it ti Ifv ■■"i.r-"^ 220 INFLUENCE 01« MEKCllANTS. stage of the world,) whose ideas were never above the level of a sordid calculation, and all of whose calculations were as egotistical as his discourse. It strikes me that both a higher and a lower order of men mingle in commerce here, than is seen elsewhere, if, perhaps, the better sort of English merchants be excepted. Their intimate relations on " 'Change" bring them all, more or less, toge- ther in the saloons ; nor can the associations well be avoided, until the place shall attain a size, which must leave every one the perfect master of his own manner of living. That hour is fast approaching for New York, and with it, I think, must come a corresponding change in the marshalling of its coteries. When Cadwallader returned from the country, I fell into a very different circle. His connections were strictly of New York, and they were alto- gether among the principal and longest established families. Here I met with many men of great leisure and large fortunes, who had imparted to their children what they had received from their fathers ; and it would not have been easy, after making some slight allowances for a trifling tinge of Dutch customs, to have distinguished between their society and that portion of the English who live in great abundance, without falling into the current of what is called high or fashionable life. Although many, not only of the best informed, but of the best bred of the Americans, are mer- REMAINS OF COLONIAL ARISTOCRACY. 22 L chants, the tone of manners in this circle was decid- edly more even and graceful than in that which strictly belongs to the former. But it is not dif- ficult to see that society in New York, in conse- quence of its extraordinary increase, is rather in a state of effervescence than settled, and, where that is the case, I presume you will not be sur- prised to know, that the lees sometimes get nearer to the surface than is desirable. Nothing is easier than for a well-behaved man, who is tolerably recommended, to get admission into the houses of the larger proportion of those who seek noto- riety by courting a general intercourse ; but I am inclined to think that the doors of those who are secure of their stations are guarded with the cus- tomary watchfulness. Stili you will always re- member, that suspicion is less alert than in Europe ; for where temptations to abuse confidence are so rare, one is not much disposed to clog the en- joyments of life by admitting so sullen a guest. The effect of this general confidence is a less re- strained and more natural communication. There is a common accusation against the Ame- ricans, men and women, of being cold in their manners. Some carry their distaste of the alleged defect so far, as to impute it to a want of feeling. I have even listened to speculations so ingenious, as to refer it to a peculiarity in the climate — a reasoning that was thought to be supported by the well-known imperturbability of the Abori* W'l ^.imi m fi 222 COLDNESS OF MANNER. ^ r m k-! gines. Whether the theory be true or false, the argument that is brought to maintain it is of most unfortunate application. The tornado itself is not more furious than the anger of the Indian, nor is it easy to imagine a conformation of the human mind that embraces a wider range of emo- tions, from the fiercest to the most gentle, than what the original owners of this country possess. Civilization might multiply the changes of their humour, but it would scarcely exhibit it in more decided forms. I confess, however, that even in Cadwallader I thought, during the first weeks of our intercourse, something of this restraint of manner was perceptible. In his countrymen, and more particularly his countrywomen, the defect seemed no less apparent. In New England, not- withstanding their extraordinary kindness in deeds, there was often an apparent coldness of demeanour that certainly lessened, though it could not destroy its effect.* *'' An instance of this suppressc.' manner occurred while the author was at New York in the summer of 1825. An English fri- gate (the Hussar) entered the port, and anchored a short distance below the town. Her oaptain was the owner of a London-built wherry, which he kept for his private sport, as his countrymen on shore are known to keep racers. It seems that some conversation concerning the model of this boat, and of those of New York, and perhaps, too, respecting the comparative skill of four London water- men whom he was said to retain as a sort of grooms, and the re- nowned Whitehallers, induced him to insert a challenge in the journals, wherein he threw down the glove, for a trial of speed, to all the raari- ANECDOTE TO EXEMPLIFY IT. 223 This national trait can neither be likened to, nor accounted for, ^5y any of those causes which are supposed to produce the approximating quali- ties in some of the people of our hemisphere. It ners or sportsmen of the city. The Whitehallers took up the gage, and a day was publicly named for the trial. It was quite evident that the citizens, who are keenly alive to any thing that affects their reputation on the water, let it be ever so trifling, took great interest in the re- sult. Thousands of spectators assembled on the battery ; and, to keep alive the excitiMCni; there were not five Englishmen or Eng- lish women in the city who did not appcur to back the enterprise of their countrymen. The distance run (about two miles) was from the frigate to a boat anchored in the Hudson, and thence ta another which lay at a short distance from the Castle Garden, already described. On board of the latter, the judges (who, it is presumed, were of both nations,) had adopted those delicate symbols of victory which had so recently been pitted against each other iu far less friendly encounters, i. e. the national flags. The writer and his friend, who, notwithstanding his philosophy, felt great interest in the result, took their stand on the belvidere of the castle, which commanded a fine view of the whole bay. On their right hand stood a young American naval officer, and on their left a pretty and highlyexcited young Englishwoman. The frigate fired a gun, and the two boats were seen dashing ahead at the signal. One soon took the lead, and maintained it to the end of the race, beating by near a quarter of a mile, though the oarsmen came in pulling only with one hand each. For some time the distance prevented a clear view of which was likely to be the victor. A report spread on the left that it was the boat of the frigate. The eyes of the fair English- woman danced with pleasure, and she murmured her satisfaction so audibly as to reach the ears of all near her. The writer turned to see the effect on his right-hand neighbour. He was smiling at the feeling of the lady, but soon gravely turned his eyes in the di- rection of the boats. He was asked which was ahead. He answered, . 'il i\ OH I I < '3 I'* ^ ■ i 1 i ^ I * )U' ■n 1(1 i 224 REASONS FOR THE SAME. is not the effect of climate, since it exists equally in 45" and 30^ It is not the phlegm of the Ger- man, for no one can be more vivacious, frank, cordial, and communicative than the American, when you have effected the easy task of breaking through the barrier of his reserve. It cannot be the insulated pride of the Spaniard, brooding under his cloak on the miserable condition of to-day, or dreaming of the glories of the past ; nor is it the repulsive hauteur of the Englishman, for «* The Whitehallers !" and directed the attention to a simple fact to confirm his opinion. The victors were pulling with so swift Lnd equal a stroke, as to render their oars (at that distance) impercepti-' ble, whereas there were moments when the blades of those in the beaten boat could be distinctly seen. This the young lieutenant described as a " man-of-war stroke," which, he said, "could never beat a dead Whitehall-pull, let the rowers come from where they would." The fact proved that he was right. The English flag was lowered amid three manful cheers from the goal-boat, which was no other than the launch of the Hussar. With the exception of a few boys, the Americans, though secretly much elated, made no answer, and it was difficult to trace the least change in the coui^tenances of the spectators. On quitting the battery, the writer and his friend met a French gentleman of tht:r acquaintance descending the Broadway to witness the race. He held up both hands, and shook his head, by the way of condolence. His error was explained. «* Victors!" he exclaimed, looking around him in ludicrous sur- prise, " I could have sworn by the gravity of every face I see, that the Englishmen had beaten you half the distance!" It is no more than fair to add, that something was said of an accident to the Hus- sar's boat, of which the writer pretends to know nothing, but of which he is sure the grave crowd by which he was surrounded was quite as ignorant as himself. . .. .. : EFFECT OF RELIGIOUS DOGMAS. 225 no one is more disposed to admit of the perfect equality of his fellow crectures than the native of this country. By scne it has been supposed to be the fruits of the metaphysical, religious dog- mas and stern discipline that were long taught and practised in so many of the original colonies. That the religion of the Puritans and of the Friends left their impressions, is, I think, beyond a doubt ; for the very peculiarity of manner to which we have reference, is to be found, in dif- ferent sections of the Union, modified by the ab- sence or prevalence of their self-mortifying doc- trines. Still, one finds degrees of this same exterior among the Episcopalians of New York, the Ca- tholics of Maryland, the merchants of the east, the great landed proprietors of the middle states, and the planters of the south. It is rather tem- pered than destroyed by the division of states, of religion, or of habits. It is said even to begin to exhibit itself among the French of Louisiana, who are already to be distinguished from their kinsmen in Europe b;' greater gravity of eye and mien. It is even so contagious, that no foreigner can long dwell within its influence without contracting more or less of its exterior. It does not arise from unavoidable care, since no people have less reason to brood over the calamities of life. There is no Cassius-like discontent to lead the minds of men into plots and treasons ; for, from the time I entered the country to the present momeni. .. >•■' ■ VOL. i. Q f** ,.fi ''V i k' 1 1 ^*ife ^ y 226 COLDNESS OF MANNEFIS ACCOUNTED FOR. amidst the utmost latitude of political discussion, I have not heard even a whisper against the great leading principles of the government.* In despair of ever arriving at the solution of doubts which so completely baffled all conjecture and experience, I threw myself on the greater observation of Cadwallader for the explanation of a habit which, the more I reflected, only assumed more of the character of an enigma. His answer was sufficiently sententious, though, when pressed upon the subject, he was not unwilling to support it by reasons that certainly are rather plausible, if not just. To the question — " To what do you ascribe the characteristic grave demeanour of your countrymen ?" the reply was, " To the simplicity of common sense !" This was startling, and at first, perhaps, a little offensive ; but you shall have his reasons in his own words. " You admit yourself that the peculiarity which you mention is solely confined to manner. The host, the friend, the man of business, or the lady in her drawing-room, who receives you with less empressement than you have been accustomed to meet elsewhere, omits no duty or material act of kindness. While each seems to enter less into the interests of your existence, not one of them is * The author will add, nor to the hour of his departure. The United States of America are, perhaps, the only country in Christen- dom where political disaffection does not in a greater or less degree prevail. COLDNESS OF MANNERS ACCOUNTED FOU. 227 selfishly engaged in the exclusive pursuits of his own. " While the Americans have lived in the centre of the moral world, their distance from Europe, and their scattered population, have kept them, as respects association, in comparative retirement. They have had great leisure for reflection. Even England, which has so long and so richly supplied us with food for the mind, labours under a mental dis- advantage which is not known here. Her artificial and aged institutions require the prop of concerted opinions, which, if it be not fatal to change, have at least acquired an influence that it is thought dangerous to disturb. In America, no such re- straint has ever been laid on the human mind, unless it might be through the ordinary operation of passing prejudices. But those prejudices have always been limited in their duration, and have never possessed the important prerogative of exclu- sive reverence. Men combated them at will, and •generally with impunity. Even the peculiar maxims of the monarchy came to us, across the Atlantic, weakened by distance and obnoxious to criticism. They were assailed, shaken, and destroyed. " Thought is the inevitable fruit of a state of being where the individual is thus permit- ted to enjoy the best effects of the highest civilization, with as little as possible of its disad- vantages. I should have said thought itself was the reason of that gravity you observe, did I not Q 2 , :Wm ■A ■/jiii.,r-?'' n 'Mh^ ■'■J 228 COLDNF.SS OF MANNERS ACCOUNTED FOR. believe it is more true to ascribe it to the nearest approximate quality in which that thought is exhibited. When there is much leisure, and all the other means to reflect on life, apart from those temptations which hurry us into its vortex, the mind is not slow to strip it of its gloss, and to arrive at truths that lie so near the surface. The result has been, in America, to establish common sense as the sovereign guide of the public will. In the possession of this quality, the nation is unrivalled. It tempers its religion, its morals, its politics, and finally, as in the case in question, its manners. The first is equally without bigotry or licentiousness ; the second are generally con- sistent and sound ; the third are purely de- mocratic without the slightest approach to dis- order; and the last are. as you see them, less attractive to you, perhaps, because unusual ; but more in consonance with common sense than your own, inasmuch as they fail of an exaggeration which our reason would condemn. Many nations excel us in the arts, but none in the truths of hu- man existence. The former constitute the poetry of life, and they are desirable so far as they temper society ; but when they possess it to the exclusion of still nobler objects, their dominion is dangerous, and may easily become fatal. Like all other pursuits in which the imagination predo- minates, they have a tendency to diminish the directness with which reason regards every thing that appertains to our nature. -n COLDNESS OF MANNERS ACCOUNTED FOK. 221} •* Although there is nothing incompatible between perfect political freedom and high rational refine- ment, there is certainly a greater addiction to factitious complaisance in a despotism than in a republic. The artificial deference which, in the former, is exacted by him who rules, descends through all the gradations of society, until its tone becomes imparted to an entire nation. I think it will be found, by referring to Europe, that manners, though certainly modified by national temperament and other causes, have become artificial in propor- tion as the sovereign power has exercised its influ- ence. Though France, under the old regime, was not in theory more monarchical than many of the adjoining countries, the monarch, in fact, filled a greater space in the public mind. It would be difficult to find any other nation in which sacri- fices so heavy, indeed, it may be said, so fatal, were daily and hourly made to appearances, as under the reign of Louis XIV. They were only the more dangerous, inasmuch as the great ad- vancement of the nation made the most gifted men auxiliary to the propagation of deception. The part which Racine with his piety, Boileau with wit, and even Fontaine with his boasted simplicity, did not disdain to play, humbler men might well desire to imitate. The consequences of this fac- titious tone in manners prevail to the present day in France, which, notwithstanding her vast im- provements, has yet a great deal to concede to the immutable and sacred emnire of truth, before 1 «ii,."j ! ■4 il r'f-3 1 I; ■ ■. ' ,fi .; I' Iff' .'' ' . 'rl' :;!;''■ M ;.!' ^i w ^v. 230 COLDNESS OF MANNERS ACCOUNTED FOR, either religion, g^ovemment, or morals, shall reacli that degree of perfection which each and all may hope to attain. However agreeable habitual deference to forms may become, the pleasure is bought too dearly, when a just knowledge of our- selves, deceptive views of life, or even of sacred li- berty itself, may be the price. I should cite America as furnishing the very reverse of this proposition. Here, without pretending to any infallibility of judgment, all matters are mooted with the most fearless indifference of the consequences. In the tossings and agitations of the public opinion, the fine and precious grains of truth gradually get win- nowed from the chaff of empiricism and interest- edness, and, to pursue the figure, literally become the mental aliment of the nation. After the mind is thoroughly imbued with healthful moral truths, it admits the blandishments and exaggerations of conventional politeness with great distrust, and not unfrequently with distaste. When the prin- ciple is pushed into extremes, men become Trap- pists, and Puritans, and Quakers. Now, in this respect, every American, taken of course with the necessary allowances, is, more or less, a Puritan. He will not tell you he is enchanted to see you, when, in truth, he is perfectly indifferent to the matter ; his thoughts are too direct for so gross a deception. Although he may not literally mean what he says, he means something much nearer to it than one meets with in what is called good society any where else. COLDNESS OF MANNERS ACCOLNTEU FOR. 231 ** The native of New England has certainly more of this peculiar exterior than the native of any other part of our country. This difference is unques- tionably a result of the manners of the Puritans. But you are right in believing that it is, more or less, to be seen in the air of most Americans ; perhaps of all, with the exception of those who have lived from infancy in what is called the most polished, which of itself implies the most artifi- cial circles. " A great deal of this exterior is also hereditary. The Englishman is the man of the coldest aspect in Europe, when you compare his ordinary tem- perament with his deportment. Has not the Eng- glishman a sounder view of life than any other man in your hemisphere ? If not, he has been singularly fortunate in preceding all his com- petitors in the enjoyment of its most material ad- vantages. " France has been proverbial for grace of manner. But the manners of France are undergoing a sensi- ble change, under the influence of the new order of things. Her gentlemen are becoming grave as they become thoughtful. Any one may observe, in passing through French society, the difference between the two schools. I confess that my taste is for the modern. I have been so much accus- tomed to the simplicity of American manners, as to find something that is congenial in the well-bred English, that is wanting in the well-bred French deportment, and precisely for the reason that it is .'>!' y\ 232 COLDNESS OF MANNERS ACCOUNTED FOR. still a little more natural. So far as this distinc- tion goes, I honestly believe the Englishman has the advantage. But, with honourable exceptions, it will not do to push English complaisance too far. Perhaps, if we attempt a comparison, I shall be better understood. ■ "The Englishman and the American have, in a grjat degree, a common mnnner. I do not now speak of the gentlemen of the two countries, for muclx intercourse is rapidly assimilating the class every where, but of the deportment of the two en- tire nations. You will find both cold. There is certainly no great difference in the men, though more may be observed in the women. The Eng- lish say that our women are much too cold, and we say that theirs are artificial without always being graceful. Of course, I speak of the mass, and not of exceptions, in either case. Our women are, as you see, eminently feminine, in air, conversation, and feeling, and they are also eminently natural. You may find them cold, for, to be honest, they find you a little artificial ; but, with their country- men, they are frank, sincere, unreserved and natural, while I challenge the world to produce finer instances of genuine, shrinking delicacy, or of greater feminine propriety. " The French gentleman has certainly one ad- vantage over his island neighbour. He is uni- formly polite ; his conventional habits having apparently gotten the better of all his native humours. You are sure, so far as manner is con- W l:i\ COLDNESS OF MANNERS ACCOUNTED FOR. 233 cerned, of finding him to-morrow as you left him to-day. There may be some question on this point with the Enghshman, but none with the American. Common-sense is quite as equal as good breeding. The American gentleman is less graceful than the Frenchman, and may be even less conventional in his air than the English- man, but he is commonly gravely considerate of the feelings. Were he disposed to abuse his situ- ation, his countrymen would not tolerate his airs. I have already told you that humanity is a distinc- tive feature of American intercourse. The men of secondary manners may be more subdued in air than those of Europe, but it is altogether con- fined to appearance. No man is kinder in all his feelings or habits.* *' But this digression is leading me from what you call the peculiar coldness of the American manner. The word is not well chosen, since cold- ness implies a want of feeling, and want of feehng * The writer landed in England, on his return to Europe, Curiosity led him to the gallery of the House of Commons. The member on the floor was a stranger to him. A well dressed man stood at his elbow, and he ventured to ask him if he knew who was speaking. " No," was the answer, and it was given with an eleva- tion and a peculiar senteatiousness of voice which cannot be com- mitted to paper. The writer was induced to repeat the experiment, simply as an experiment, four times, and always with the same suc- cess, except that in the last instance he obtained the name, but in a note pitched in the same key. He is bold co say, that the coldest looking man in America would have answered in a tone of more ** civilization.^' !1 /■''■• 'I ' :■ ■r ' ! i 234 COLDNESS OF MANNERS ACCOUNTED FOR. cannot exist where every concession is made to humanity, except in words and looks. Mr. Hodgf son says, he does not think the habit of which he complains is to be seen in the better classes of the men, though he appears, unwillingly enougii too, to admit that the females are not quite so free from the charge. Mr. Hodgson, it will be remembered, was a bachelor, and he ought to have known that this is a class of men far less in demand in America than in England. Without appearing to make the smallest allowance for the momentary warmth that is always excited by countrymen meeting in a foreign land, he puts the seeming cordiality of the wives of certain English soldiers whom he met at Niagara, in strong contrast with the cold demeanour of the wives of the thousands of Americans whom he had just left. This gentleman does not pretend that there was actually more of feeling in the one case than in the other ; he seems perfectly willing to ascribe the difference to its true cause, viz., a simple difference in manner. Just to this extent I admit the justice of his remark, and I have endeavoured to give you some reasons for its existence. One would not gather from the book of Mr. Hodgson, rational and candid as it is, that the author had ever seen many countries besides his own ; if he has, he must be aware that the air and manner of a French paysanne would still be more likely to flatter his self-complacency than the cordiality of the soldiers' wives. It would not COLDNESS OF MANNERS ACCOUNTED FOR. 235 be difficult for you and me to quote still stronger instances of the extent to which this manner is carried among different people, and people, too, who have no very extraordinary reputation either for morals or civilization. " I think it will be found, too, on reflection, that the subdued manner (the word is more just than cold) of the Americans, is more owing to the simple and common sense habit they have of viewing things, than even to rusticity, or indeed to any other cause. It cannot be the former, since it is to be traced among those who have passed their lives in the most polished intercourse in the cities no less than in the country, and amid ele- gance as well as rural simplicity. While we have very few certainly who devote their leisure to the exclusive cultivation of the mere refinements of life, there is perhaps a smaller degree of rustic awkwardness in the country than can be found among an equal number of the inhabitants of any other nation. The very quality which keeps down the superfluous courtesy of the upper, has an agency in elevating the manners of the lower classes, who, considering their situations, are at all times surprisingly self-possessed and at their ease. A far more just objection to the social usages of the Americans, might be discovered in the rough and hardy manner in which they sup- port their opinions, than in this absence of assumed cordiality. The latter, though it may become m I-'! :U M 236 COLDNESS OF MANNERS ACCOUNTED FOR. m necessary by indulgence, can, after all, only im- pose upon a novice, whereas the former may easily become offensive, without in the slightest degree advancing what they urge. But it is so difficult, and even so dangerous, to say how far courtesy shall infringe on truth, that one can tolerate a little inconvenience to favour the latter ; and de- pend on it, though the practice is often exces- sively unpleasant in the individual (and much oftener here than in Europe), it is a sound, healthful, national failing, that purchases great good at a small price." I shall make no comments on the opinions of my friend. There is, however, one thing that may be said on the subject which will go to prove the justice of his theory. There is, at least, nothing conventional in this coldness of manner of his countrymen. Men do not admit it as a part of their gentility ; but it has altogether the air of being either the effect of their national tempera- ment, or, as Cadwallader would prove, of habits that proceed from a reflection so general and uni- form, as to have perfectly acquired the simplicity and force of nature. I think also that he has not laid sufficient stress on the effect of republican institutions and the want of a court ; but one cannot expect so thorough a democrat to speak with much reverence of the latter. He has explained that, by the prevalence of " common sense," he does not mean that every man in America is wise enough FEELING FOR LA FAYETTE. 237 to discriminate between the substance and the shadow of things, but that so many are as to have given a tone to the general deportment of the whole : a case that may very well exist in a read- ing and instructed nation. TO THE COUNT JULES DE BETHIZY. 8fc. Sfc. New York, > From the hour that we landed in America, to the present moment, the voices of men, the jour- nals, and the public bodies, have been occupied in celebrating the work of national gratitude. The visit of La Fayette, his ancient services, his ap- pearance, his sayings, his tact, his recollection of, and meeting with veterans whom he had known under other and more adverse circumstances, are the constant themes of press and tongue. The universal sentiment, and the various scenes to which it has given birth, have not failed to elicit many sparks of that sort of feeling which is credit- able to human nature, since it proves that man, with all his selfishness and depravity, is the repo- sitory of a vast deal that is generous and noble. Two or three little anecdotes have wome to my ears that may serve to amuse, if not to edify you. urn '.V< ;"!« p- -'.t,v ^1 h'.ix^' I'M mm I ■■m Mi m 'inm ■1i; V \ "' ii:/ i 238 ANECDOTE. If i' 1 /6^ One of the familiar, and certainly not the least touching manners, chosen by the Americans, to evince their attachment to La Fayette, who has been well termed the " nation's guest,'* is by making offerings of the labours of their own hands, in the shape of a thousand trifling articles that may affect his personal comfort, or at least ma- nifest their zeal in its behalf. Among others, it seems that a hatter had even gone so far as to send a hat, or hats, to France, as his portion of these little contributions. This kindness was remembered, and a short time after their arrival, M. George La Fayette went to the shop of the individual, and ordered a supply for himself. The hat was furnished as a matter of course, with the directness and simplicity that characterise these people. The next thing was to demand the bill ; for you will readily understand that the motive of M. La Fayette, was to patronize a tradesman who had been so attentive to his father. " I was paid forty years ago for all the hats I can make for any of the family of La Fayette," was the an- swer. A gentleman, who, from former acquaintance and his situation in life, is much around the person of the General, has related another instance of the deep and nearly filial interest that is taken in Ins comfort, by all classes of the citizens. It is well known that in common with so many others, the fortune of La Fayetts suffered by the changes ANECDOTE. 239 in France, no less than by his own sacrifices. This circumstance had, as usual, been exaggerated, until an impression has obtained among many of the less informed, that he is actually subjected to personal privations. Their * guest' appeared among the Americans simply clad, in a coat of black, which was not of a particulary fine fabric, and with other habiliments equally plain. Now, it so happens, that the American who is the least above the labouring classes, habitually wears a finer cloth than the corresponding classes even in England, with perhaps an exception in favour of the very highest in the latter country. This peculiarity in the attire of La Fayette, struck the eye of a mechanic, who did not fail to ascribe it to a want of means. He sought an opportunity to confer with Colonel , from whose mouth I have the anecdote, and after a little embarrassment and circumlocution, explained his object. " I see Colonel , that our friend has not as good a coat as he ought to wear, and I think he should be the best dressed man in America. You know very well that I am nothing but a plain mechanic, and that I should not know what to say to a man like La Fayette in such a case as this ; but you are a gentleman, and can smooth the thing over as it should be, and 1*11 thank you just to get him a suit of the best, in any way you please, and then the bill can be given to me, and nothing further shall ever be said of the matter." if'!'- I ■' I V ■ I ' \h ■ ■■ 240 LA FAYETTE RETURNS FROM BOSTON. 7]Vf. M: I might fill a volume with similar instances of attachment and affection, with addresses, proces- sions and ceremonies, which have occurred since the reception of the veteran Frenchman, amongst these usually quiet and rarely excited people. A brief description of a fete at which I was present, and which is, in some measure, connected with my own mov^ ment* must, however, suffice for the present. \ ;^;'>r describe it both for its peculiar nature, and . u ;e it may serve to give a general idea of the taste, mdiiiers, and appearance of the Americans, in similar scenes. At the return of La Fayette from his excursion to Boston, the citizens of New York determined to entertain him in their collective capacity. He had been feasted by corporate bodies innumerable ; but this ball was to oe given by subscription, and to include as many of all the different classes of society, as could well assemble in the place chosen for its celebration. That spot was the abandoned fortress already mentioned by the name of the Castle Garden, as the place where he landed. The castle, you will remember, stands on an artifi- cial island, a few hundred feet from the promenade, that is called the Battery. The work itself is a building of dark red freestone, almost circular, and I should think near two hundred feet in diameter. Most of this space is occupied by the area in the centre, the work itself being little more than a covered battery, which by subsequent changes has A R It .\\(J VM F.STS roU Til K F F.TK. 241 beon transformed into alcoves, and has a fine ter- race, or rather belvidere, around the whole of its summit. A tall spar was raised in the centre of the area, and a vast awning was constructed of the sails of a ship of the line, to cover the whole. The interior side of this awning was concealed by flags, arranged in such a manner as to give a soft, airy finish to the wide vault, and a roof that inclined inwards from the ramparts for a little distance was covered with gradins, like the seats of an amphi- theatre. Thus the interior fiiight be id to be divided into several parts. There wa* ih ^reat salle, or the area of the garden; th > iimense, low, vaulted, circular corridor, withMi \ e work ; the gradins, a little below the b idsre, sup- ported by pillars, and the belvidere itself, all beneath the awning. In addition to these, on the side of the castle next the city, is a range of apartments, some of which have been added since the new destination of the building, and are on a scale suited to its present uses. Cadwallader procured tickets for us both, and at ten o'clock we proceeded to the centre of attrac- tion. Two of the principal streets of the city terminate near each other directly in face of the castle garden. The carriages entered the battery (the promenade) by one, and left it by the other. Temporary fences were erected to keep the coach- men in the line after they had arrived on the mall. I can say with truth, that I never knew a company VOL. I. B K. ^ im V 1 ;^ i ■ '; ";. ]?.:»■ . I'll;* m i^ : Ht 1 242 ORDKR IN SOCIKTY WITHOUT PKKCEDF.NC Y. set down and taken up with more facility and order. You will recollect there were six thousand guests, a number that is rarely exceeded at any European entertainment. The quiet which pr^. vailed, is a suflBcient proof that established orders in society are not at all necessary, at least, for the tranquillity of its ordinary intercourse. There were no gensd'armes, though I was told some police officers were present, and yet I saw no attempts to break the line, or any other instances of those impertinences, with which coachmen with us are apt to emulate what they conceive to be the importance of their masters. Indeed, all my experience goes to show, that the simplest way of destroying the bickerings and heart-burnings of precedency and rank, is to destroy their usages altogether. No doubt human nature is just as active among these republicans, as it is in England or in Germany, and that A. secretly envies or derides the claims of B. ; but it would be perfectly absurd in either of the parties to permit a public exposure of their pretensions, since the world would be very apt to tell them both, the distinc- tion you enjoy is only by sufferance, and dignified and quiet behaviour is one requisite for its posses- sion at all. Thus, you see, however rancorous may be the rivalry, third parties are at all events spared the exhibition of its folly. But this truth is abundantly proved in the saloons of your own fascinating metropolis, where one is daily elbowed TIIF. CASTLK (lARUEN FKTK. 243 by peers, without being the least conscious of the honours he is receiving, and where society is kept so perfectly and so admirably distinct from Go- vernment. We alighted at the bridge which connects the island to the battery. By the aid of awnings, carpets, and other accessories, this passage, over which armed heels had so often trod, and lumber- ing wheels rumbled with their groaning loads of artillery, was converted into a long, and prettily decorated gallery. The light was judiciously kept down, so as to give the entrance a subdued and pleasing, and a strikingly romantic effect. You caught, id passing, glimpses of the water, and heard its quiet washing in dull contrast to the strains of distant music. Steam boats were land- ing the guests by hundreds, on the narrow terrace which surrounds the base of the castle, and a never ceasing current of gaily dressed and grace- ful beings were gliding from out the darkness on either hand, or along the gallery, towards a flood of light which was shed through the massive frowning portal of the fortress, as a sort of beacon to direct our footsteps. Such a sight was not likely to fail of its effect on one as weakly consti- tuted as myself, dear Jules, and abandoning the pensive and deliberative step with which I had loitered to contemplate the peculiar and pleasing approach to the scene, I hastened on to plunge at once into its gayest vortex. I know not whether R 2 t , t ,' mm I m 1 244 l)KsrUll»TI()\ OF THE SALLF. it was owing to the contrast between the judicious,, gloom of the romantic gallery and the brilliant salle, to the magnitude of that salle, or to the fact that with European complaisance I had expected no very imposing exhibition of taste and splendour among these people, but, certain is it, that, though far from unaccustomed, as you well know, to ft^tes and spec- tacles, I never entered one whose coup (Cml pro- duced an effect like this. As we hurried towards the gate in hundreds, (for two or three steam boats had just discharged their living cargoes), I had been seized with a very natural apprehension, that the whole was to terminate in one of those well dressed throngs in which it would be impossible to see, hear, converse, dance, or, in short, to be alive to any other sensations than those of exces- sive heat, ctmuiy and, perhaps, a head-ache. But though so many poured along the approaches, like water gushing through some narrow passage, the rush, the crowd, and the inconvenience ceased as you entered the principal space, like the tumult of that element subsiding as it emerges into a broad basin. There were, probably, five thousand per- sons in the salle when we entered, and yet there was abundant room for all the usual pursuits of such an assembly. Some thirty, or forty, or fifty, sets of quadrilles were in graceful motion, hun- dreds were promenading around the dancers, and, literally, thousands were hanging over them on the belvidere and among the gradins, looking ^' f 111 ■ 1MMKNSK ASSKMinV. AIM'KA H A NHl., K IC. 245 down with the complacency of those benignant beings to whom poets give an habitation in the clouds. It is, perhaps, not saying much for the self- possession of two travellers who had passed through so many similar scenes, but it is, never- theless, strictly true, that both Cadvvallader and myself, instead of passing on with suitable defer- ence to the rest of the guests, came to a dead halt on the threshold of this scene, and stood, near a minute, gazing around us and upwards, with won- der. We had, however, the consolation to dis- cover that we were not alone in our underbred surprise, for a hundred pretty exclamations that escaped prettier lips, and the immense pressure of the crowd at the spot where our steps had been arrested, apprised us that the sensation was com- mon to all. Escaping from this throng, we had leisure to study the details which had produced so imposing a tout-ensemble. An immense cloud of flags, composed of all the colours of the rainbow intermingled, was waving gently in the upper air, shadowing the area at an elevation of not less than seventy feet. The enoi Tious spar which supported this canopy of ensigns had been converted into the shaft of an immense lustre, whose several parts were com- posed of entire chandeliers. From ^ these were streaming the floods of noon-day light whi'^H gave to the centre of the salle its extraordina; y bril- ill ' : I rti&i m 246 LA FAYETTK. HIS ENTRANCE AND RECEPTION, \\i Iff .;!.('*,:• liancy, while countless shaded and coloured lamps shed a fainter and softer glow on those parts of the scene which taste and contrast required to be kept down. Directly in front of the en- trance was a double flight of steps (one of half a dozen which led to the gradins and the belvidere). Beneath this double flight, a marquee of the dimen- sions of a small chamber had been arranged for the particular reception of the guest. It was gaily decorated ; containing a supper table, sofas, a chandelier, and, in short, all the garniture of a separate room. The curtains were withdrawn in such a manner, that any who chose might examine its interior. Opposite to this again, and directly over the portal, was the orchestra, appended to the side of the building which contained the eating apartments, and the ordinary dwelling of the place. Shortly after we had entered, La Fayette ar- rived. The music changed to a national air, the gay sets dissolved as by a charm, and the dancers wiio had been dispersed over the floor of the salle formed a lane, whose sides were composed of masses that might have contained two thousand eager faces each. Through this gay multitude the old man slowly passed, giving and receiving the most cordial and affectionate salutations at every step. I had not seen him sincp his depar- ture for the east. But though the freshness of his reception was past, his presence bad lost none of tis influence. To me he appeared some venerable NATURE OF THE COMPANY. 247 and much respected head of a vast family, who had come to pass an hour amid their innocent and gay revels. He was literally like a father among his children. The assemblage was composed of every class in the country, with the exception of those per- haps who are compelled to seek their livelihood by positive bodily labour. Still there was no awkwardness apparent, no presumption on the part of the one, nor any arrogance on that of others. All passed off simply, harmoniously, and with the utmost seeming enjoyment. My friend, who is very universally known, was saluted at every step by some fair one, or some man, who, to the eye at least, had the port and bearing of a gentleman. " Who is that V* I asked him, after he had paused an instant to speak to a young couple who were promenading the room together. ** That is young and his bride. He has recently returned from his travels, to take possession of a fine estate which has descended to him from the old Dutch patricians of our state, and to marry that sweet creature on his arm, who has had power enough to retain her influence after his tour through Europe, and who, by-the-bye, is a distant cousin of my own/' " And that?" I conti- nued. " A city politician," returned Cadwallader, smiling. "He is ambitious of ruling his ward, though a man of family, fortune, and education ; and he to whom he has just spoken is a brazier, •i, ;: t. 1 -'. ■■ H, 1 1; [Hi i i.l ■Mm'- . 248 ALL CLASSES MET TOGETilElL and is his rival, and often too with success. This grave looking man in black is a state politician ; and he who is lounging with those ladies yonder, is one of the meridian of Washington. They are all connected, and act in concert, and yet each keeps his proper sphere as accurately as the planets. Those half dozen fashionable looking young men are the sons of gentlemen, and he who speaks to them in passing is the son of a me- chanic who is in their employ. They are probably brother officers in some militia regiment.'' " And he to whom you have just spoken ?" " That is my hatter, and a very good one he is too. Now that man, in common, no more expects to associate with me, or to mingle in ray ordinary recreations, than I should to sit at the table of the king of France ; and yet he is sensible, discreet, and in many things well informed. Such a man would neither overlook an unnecessary slight, nor would he be apt to presume beyond the mark between us which his own good sense will be sure to pre- scribe. He knows our habits are different, and he feels that 1 have the same right to enjoy mine, that he has to possess his own. You see we are very good friends, and yet this is probably the first time we ever met in the same company." In this manner we passed through the crowd, until we had gained the terrace. Here we paused, to take a more deliberate view of what I will not term an assemblage, for its adjuncts and peculiar features strictly entitle it to be called a prospect. ill: ARKA OF THE CASTLP:, BAY, AND SCENE. 249 The vast extent of the salle lent an air of magic to the whole scene. Slight, delicate beings* seemed to be floating beneath us at a distance that re- duced their forms to the imaginary size of fairies ; while the low, softened music aided in the decep- tion. I never witnessed a similar effect at any other fete. Even the glimpses that were here and there caught of the gloomy recesses, in which artillery had formerly frowned, assisted in lending the spectacle a character of its own. The side cur- tains of the canopy were raised for the admission of air, and one had only to turn his eyes from the dazzling, fairy scene within, to look out upon the broad, placid, star-lit bay, which washed the foot of the fortress. I lingered on this spot near an hour, experiencing an unsocial delight that may seem to savour of the humour of our fraternity, especially when one remembers the numberless temptations to descend which were flitting like beings of the air before my eyes. But a crowd of sensations and reflections oppressed me. Again and again I asked myself the question, if what I saw were true, and if I really were stand- ing on the continent of Columbus. Could those fair, graceful creatures be the daughters and wives of the mechanics and tradesmen of a provincial town in North America ! Perhaps, dear B^thizy, it was assailing me in my weakest part ; but I do im ^': ^ :■■]' . . r * The delicacy of the American women is rather peculiar. It struck the writer that the females in common were under the sire of middle Europe, and the men rather over. - . 451 ■ 'M r ii.-.- ' : Kl;i;!;'! 250 REFLECTIONS. A BACHELOR*S CONFF.IiolONS. not re^Aember, before or since, ever to hav o been so alive to the injustice of our supeiticial hau vague notions of this country, as v^rhiie I stood gazing down on some two or three thousand of its daughters, who were not only attending, but actually adorning such a scene as this. Most of them certainly would have been abashed, perhaps gauche, if transported into one of our highly artifi- cial coteries ; but ' Ueve me, the most laboured re- finement of Eur' fv might have learned, in this identical, motley, xepublican assemblage, that there is a secret charm in nature, which it may be sometimes dangerous to attempt to supersede. It has always appeared to me, that manner in a woman bears a strict analogy to dress. A degree of simple, appropriate embellishment serves alike to adorn the graces of person and of demeanour ; but the moment a certain line is passed in either^ the individual becomes auxiliary to the addition, instead of the addition lerniing, as it should, a grace to the individuai, 1. is very possible, that, if one woman wears diamonds, another must do the same thing, until a saloon shall be filled with the contents of a jeweller's shop; but, after all, this is rather a contest between bright stones than bright eyes. What man has not looked a thousand times, even at beauty, with indifference, wh*3n it has been smothered by such an unnatural alliance ; but what man has ever met beauty in its i,\atiye gittractio is, without feeling her power in- DEP0RTM£NT OF AMERICAN FEMALES 251 fluencing his inmost soul. I rpcuk wi:h no di^-r sembled CTperience when I answer — None ! I think the females of the secondary classes in this country dress more, and those of the upper, less, than the corresponding castes in Europe. The Americans are not an economical people, in one sense, though instances of dissolute prodi- gality are exceedingly rare among them. A young woman of the middling classes, for in- stance, seldom gives much of her thoughts towards the accumulation of a little dowry ; for the question of what a wife will bri? ig to the com- mon stock is agitated much less frequently here than in countries more sophisticated. My com- panion assures me it is almost unprecedented for a lover to venture on any inquiries concerning the fortune of his fair one, even in any class. Those equivocal admirers, who find Cupid none the less attractive fur having his dart gilded, are obliged to make their demonstrations with singular art and caution, for an American lady would be very apt to distrust the affection that saw her charms through the medium -f an estate, Indeed he mentioned one or two mstances in which the gentlemen had endeavoured to stipulate in advance for the dowries of their brides, and which had not only created a great deal of scandal in the coteries, but which had invariably been the means of defeating the matches ; the father, or the daughter, finding, in each case, something par^- ^'^vi 11 'i '^^%y '■' '.)•. 252 DlSINTEIihSTEDNESS OF MARRIAGES. ticularly offensive in the proposition. A lady of reputed fortune is a little more certain, of matri- mony than her less lucky rival, though popu- lar opinion must be the gage of her possessions until the lover can claim a husband's rights ; unless indeed the amorous swain should possess, as sometimes happens, secret and more authentic sources of information. From all that I can learn, nothing is more common, however, than for young men of great expectations to connect themselves with females, commonly of their own condition in life, who are pennyless ; or, on the other hand, for ladies to give their persons with one or two hundred thousand dollars, to men, who have nothing better to recommend them than educa- tion and morals. But this is digressing from my immediate subject. The facility with which the fabrics of every country in the world are obtained, the absence of care on the subject of the future, and the in- herent elevation of character which is a natural consequence of education, and a consciousness of equal rijjhts, cause all the secondary classes of this country to assume more of the exterior of the higher, *' i)3n it is common to see with us. The excf ptiofts iMUst be sought among the very poorest and most depressed members of the community. The men, who are no where so apt at imitation as the othei sex, are commonly content with gar- ments that snail denote the comfort and ease COSTUMK OK Tllf. LAUOl'RING CLASSES. 253 of their several conditions in life, but the females are remarkable for a more aspiring ambition. Even in the country, though rusticity and a more awkwarii exterior were as usual to be seen, I looked in vain for those marked and peculiar characteristics of dress and air, that we meet in every part of Europe. In but one instance do I remember to have seen any number either of men or women, whose habiliments conveyed an ideaof provincial costume. The exception was among the inhabitants of a little Dutch village, in plain view of this city, who are said to retain no small portion of the prejudices and ignorance of the seventeenth century, and whom the merry author of the bur- lesque history of New York* accuses of believing they are still subject to the power of the United Provinces. As respects the whole of New Eng- land, I saw some attempt at imitating the fashion of the day, in even the humblest individual, though the essay was frequently made on a material no more promising than the homely pro- duct of a household manufacture. In the towns, the efforts were, of course, far more successful, and I should cite the union of individuality of air with conformance to custom as a distinguishing- feature of the women of the lower classes here. You will understand me better if I venture on that dangerous experiment, a comparison. A grisette of Paris, for instance, has a particularly * Washington Irving. h; 254 THE ATTIRE OF FEMALES. ■ : I, • f :- i i: :, .' ,' ii ■• i?!i I' ' * sfnart and conventional air, though her attire is as different as possible from that of an eleffante, But the carriage, the demeanour, and the expres- sions of one Parisian grisette is as much like those of another as well can be. Now the fashion of the attire, and not unfrequently the material of the dfess of an American girl of a similar class, differs from that of the lady only in quality, and perhaps a little in the air in which it is worn. As you ascend in the scale of society, the distinctions, always excepting those delicate shades which can only be acquired by constant association in the best company, become less obvious, until it requires the tact of breeding to trace them at all. As I stood regarding the mixed assembly before ttie, I had the best possible illustration of the truth of what I will not call the levelling, for elevating is a far better word, effects of the s*«te of society, which has been engendered by tho institutions and the great abundance of this counti'y* Of some three thousand females present, not a si;tth of the whole number, per- haps, belonged to those classes that, in Europe, afe thought to have any claims to compose the Mite of society. And yet so far as air, attire, grdCe, or even deportment, were concerned, it ittust have been a sickly and narrow taste indeed that could have taken exceptions. Although so far removed from what we are ac- customed to consider the world, the Americans, MANNERS OF THE WOMEN. 255 in general, have far less of what is called, in English, the manner of the 'shop* about them, than their kinsmen of England. These peculiar features are getting every day less striking every where ; but Cadwallader tells me they never ex- isted in America at all. Few men are so com- pletely limited to one profession, or trade, as not to possess a great many just and accurate ideas on other subjects ; and though it may be a conse- quence that excellence is more rare in particular pursuits, it is certain that, in manner and in general intelligence, the nation is greatly a gainer. The effect of this elevation of character (I persist in the term) was abundantly conspicuous at the castle garden fete. Both men and women de- ported themselves, and to all appearances looked quite as well as a far more select reunion in Europe. The distinguishing feature of American female manners is nature. The fair creatures are extremely graceful if left to exhibit their blandigh- ments in their own way ; but it is very evident, that a highly artificial manner in those with whom they associate* produces a blighting influ- ence on the ease of even the most polished among them. They appear to me to shrink sensitively from professions and an exaggeration that form no part of their own politeness; and betweefi ourselves, if they are wise, they will retain the unequalled advantage they now possess in carry- ing refinement no further than it can be supported \ I: % m f;i M 2o0 UFAUTV OK TIN, (JEHf.S. r i^Fi:' Id V it. t •; I' ^. by simplicity and truth. Tlicy arc decidedly handsome : a union of beauty in feature and form, being, I think, more common than in any part of Europe north of the Adriatic. In general they arc delicate ; a certain feminine air, tone of voice, size and grace being remarkably frequent. In the northern, eastern and middle states, which contain much more than half the whole popula- tion of the country, the women are fair ; though brunettes are not unfrequent, and just as blondes are admired in France, they are much esteemed here, especially, as is often the case, if the hair and eyes happen to correspond. Indeed it is difficult to imagine any creature more attractive than an American beauty between the ages of fifteen and eighteen. There is something in the bloom, delicacy and innocence of one of these young things, that reminds you of the conceptions which poets and painters have taken of the angels. I think delicacy of air and appearance at that age, though perhaps scarcely more enchanting than what one sees in England, is even more common here than in the mother country, especially when it is recollected how many more faces necessarily pass before the eye in a given time in the latter nation than in this. It is often said that the women of this climate fade earlier than in the northern countries of Europe, and I confess I was, at first, inclined to believe the opinion true. That it is not true to the extent that is commonly sup- r, A K L V F A 1 ) I \ CJ ( ) F T 1 1 1-, WO M K \ . 257 posed, I am, however, convinced by the reasoning of Cadwallader, if indeed it be true at all. Per- haps a great majority of the females marry before the age of twenty, and it is not an uncommon thing to see them mothers at sixteen, seventeen, or eijT^hteen. Almost everv American^ int her nurses her own infant. It is far more common to find them mothers of eight, or of ten children, at fifty, than mothers of two or three. Now the human form is not completely developed in the northern moiety of this union, earlier than in France, or in England. These early marriages, which are the fruits of abundance, have an obvious tendency to impair the powers of the female, and to produce a premature decay. Tn addition to this cause, which is far more general than you may be disposed to believe, there is something in the customs of the country which may have a tendency, not only to assist the ravages of time, but to prevent the desire to con- ceal them. There is no doubt that the animal, as well as the moral man, is far less artificial here than in Europe. There is thought to be some- thing deceptive in the use of the ordinary means of aiding nature, which ofi'ends the simple manners of the nation. Even so common an ornament as rouge is denied, and no woman dares confess that she uses it. There is something so particularly soft and delicate in the colour of the young females one sees in the streets here, that at first I was VOL. I. s it 1 'Lmii k«"^i hi ji. ■t- ^> *< ^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) ^^^it^ 1.0 I.I 11.25 ■50 ^^ 25 2.2 2.0 14 Ui^ 6" i <^ / '^? ^\i«-' ^* ^j" ^ ^•?^ Hiotographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14510 (716)a73-4S03 "^.V^ '^ 258 NOT SO GEN'KHAL AS BELIKVKI). inclined to give them credit for the art with which they applied the tints ; but Cadwallader gravely assured me I was wrong. He had no doubt that certain individuals did, in secret, adopt the use of rouge; but within the whole circuit of his acquaintance he could not name one whom he even suspected of the practice. Indeed, several gentlemen have gone so far as to assure me that when a woman rouged, it is considered in this country, as prima facie testimony that her charac- ter is frail. It should also be remembered, that when an American girl marries, she no longer entertains the desire to interest any but her hus- band. There is perhaps something in the security of matrimony that is not very propitious to female blandishments, and one ought to express no sur- prise that the wife who is content with the affec- tions of her husband, should grow a little indif- ferent to the admiration of the rest of the world. One rarely sees married women foremost in the gay scenes. They attend, as observant and influ- encing members of society, but not as the princi- pal actors. It is thought that the amusements of the world are more appropriate to the young, who are neither burthened nor sobered with matrimonial duties, and who possess an inherent right to look about them in the morning of life in quest of the partner who is to be their companion to its close. And yet I could name, among my acquaintances here, a dozen of the youngest-looking mothers of COMMUNICATION BETWEKN TIIK U NM AIlllI ED. 259 large and grown-up families that I remember ever to have seen. The freedom of intercourse which is admitted between the young of the two sexes in America, and which undeniably is admitted with impunity, is to hie, who have so long been kept sighing in the distance, perfectly amazing. I have met with self-sufficient critics from our side of the Atlantic, who believe, or affect to believe, that this in- tercourse cannot always be so innocent as is pre- tended. When questioned as to the grounds of their doubts, they have uniformly been founded on the impression that what could not exist with impunity with us, cannot exist with impunity here. They might just as well pretend, in oppo- sition to the known fact, that a republican form of government cannot exist in America, because it could not well exist in Turkey as the Ottoman empire is now constituted. That the confidence of parents is sometimes abused in America, is probably just as true as it is that their watchful- ness is sometimes deceived in Europe ; but the intelligence, the high spirit, and the sensitiveness of the American (who must necessarily be a party to any transgressions of the sort) on the subject of female reputation, is in itself sufficient proof that the custom is attended with no general incon- venience. The readiness of the American gentle- man to appeal to arms in defence of his wounded pride is too -well known to be disputed. The s 2 ^1 1 » .' la^.-'^s; 260 RARELY ABUSED, AND REASONS WHY NOT. i It i duels of this country are not only more frequent, but they are infinitely more fatal than those of any other nation. We will hereafter consider the cause, and discuss their manner. But no reason- able man can suppose that a sagacious nation, which is so sensitive on the point of honour, would stupidly allow their sisters and daughters to be debauched, when their own personal experience must apprise them of the danger to which they are exposed. The evil would necessarily correct itself. The chief reason why the present customs can exist without abuse, is no doubt owing to the fact that there is no army, nor any class of idlers, to waste their time in dissolute amusements. Some- thing is also due to the deep moral feeling which pervades the community, and which influences the exhibition of vice in a thousand different ways. But having said so much on the subject, }ou may ex- pect me to name the extent to which this freedom of intercourse extends. Under the direction of my friend Cadwallader, I shall endeavour to acquit myself of the obligation. You will readily understand that the usages of society must always be more or less tempered by the circles in which they are exhibited. Among those families which can claim to belong to the Slite, the liberty allowed to unmarried females, I am inclined to think, is much the same as is prac- tised jimong the upper classes in England, with this difference, that, as there is less danger of innova- HABITS OF AN AMERICAN tilKL. 2G1 tion on rank through fortune-hunters and fashion- able aspirants, so is there less jealousy of their approaches. A young American dances, chats, laughs, and is just as happy in the saloon, as she was a few years before in the nursery. It is expected that the young men would seek her out, sit next her, endeavour to amuse her, and, in short, to make themselves as agreeable as pos- sible. By the memory of the repentant Benedict, Compte Jules, but this is a constant and sore temp- tation to one who has never before been placed in the jeopardy of such a contagious atmosphere ! But it is necessary to understand the tone of con- versation that is allowed, in order to estimate the dangers of this propinquity. The language of gallantry is never tolerated. A married woman would conceive it an insult, and a girl would be exceedingly apt to laugh in her adorer's face. In order that it should be fa- vourably received, it is necessary that the former should be prepared to forget her virtue, and to the latter, whether sincere or not, it is an absolute requisite that all adulation should at least wear the semblance of sincerity. But he who addresses an unmarried female in this language, whether it be of passion or only feigned, must expect to be exposed, and probably disgraced, unless he should be prepared to support his sincerity by an offer of his hand. I think I see you tremble at the magnitude of the penalty ! I do not mean to Km m } I . ■ ,! . :;*■. il , I ; J 2G2 UKSFUVK AND .SIMPJ.ICITY OK TliK WOMEN. say that idle pleasantries, such as are mutually unde, stood to be no more than pleasantries, are not sometimes tolerated ; but an American female is exceedingly apt to assume a chilling gravity at the slightest trespass on what she believes, and, between ourselves, rightly believes, to be the dignity of her sex. Here, you will perceive, is a saving custom, and one, too, that it is exceedingly hazardous to infringe, which diminishes one half of the ordinary dangers of the free communication between the young of the two sexes. Without doubt, when the youth has once made his choice, he endeavours to secure an interest in the affections of the chosen fair, by all those nameless assiduities and secret sympathies, which, though they ap- pear to have produced no visible fruits, cannot be unknown to one of your established susceptibility. These attractions lead to love ; and love, in this country, nineteen times in twenty, leads to matri- mony. But pure, heart-felt affection, rarely ex- hibits itself in the language of gallantry. The latter is no more than a mask, which pretenders assume and lay aside at pleasure ; but when the heart is really touched, the tongue is at best but a miserable interpreter of its emotions. 1 have always ascribed our own forlorn condition to the inability of that mediating member to do justice to the strength of emotions that are seemingly as deep as they are frequent. There is another peculiarity in American man- J'KCUMAR RKSKRVE IN CONVKRSATION. 203 nersthat should be mentioned. You probably know that in England far more reserve is used, in conver- sation with a female, than in most, if not all of the nations of the continent. As, in all peculiar customs, each nation prefers its own usage ; and while the English lady is shocked with the freedom with which the French lady converses of her personal feelings, ailings, &c., the latter turns the nicety of the former into ridicule. It would be an invidious office to pretend to decide between the tastes of such delicate disputants; but one manner of con- sidering the subject is manifestly wrong. The great reserve of the English ladies has been termed a manvaise honte, which is ascribed to their insular situation, and to their circumscribed intercourse with the rest of the world. And yet it may be well questioned if the paysanne cannot successfully compete with the clcgantey in this species of refinement, or whether a dame des halles cannot rather more freely discuss her animal func- tions than a dame de la cour. This is a manner of dis- posing of the question that will not abide the test of investigation, since it is clear that refinement makes us reserved, and not communicative, on all such topics. Fashion, it is true, may cause even coarse- ness to be sometimes tolerated, and, after all, it is no easy matter to decide where true refinement ends, or sickliness of taste commences. Let all this be as it may, it is certain that the women of America, of all classes, are much more reserved i. It P Jiil •if 264 CUSTOMS OF DIFFERf:NT COUNTRIES. and guarded in their discourse, at least in presence of our sex, than even the women of the country whence they derive their origin. Various opinions are entertained on the subject amongst themselves. The vast majority of the men like it, because they are used to no other custom. Many, who have got a taste of European usages, condemn it as over fastidious ; but my friend Cadwallader, who is not ignorant of life in both hemispheres, wor- ships it, as constituting one of the distinctive and appropriate charms of the sex. He stoutly main- tains, that the influence of woman is more felt and revered in American society than in any other ; and he argues, with no little plausibility, that it is so because, w*^ile she rarely or never exceeds the natural du of her station, she for- gets none of those distinctive features of her sex and character, which, by constantly appealing to the generosity of man by admitting her physical weakness, give strength and durability to her moral ascendancy. I think, at all events, no in- telligent traveller can journey through this country without being struck by the singular air of de- cency and self-respect which belongs to all its women, and no honest foreigner can deny the kindness and respect they receive from the men.* * A conversation once occurred between a French and an Ameri- can gentleman on this subject, in presence of the writer. The former insisted that the Americans did not treat their women as poUtely as the French, though he did not deny thinking their treat- PUKCAUTIONS USKD I\ UPPKK CLASS. 265 With these restrictions, which cannot be in- fringed without violating the rules of received decorum, you will readily perceive that the free intercourse between the unmarried is at once deprived of half its danger. But the upper classes in this country are far from neglecting many ne- cessary forms. As they have more to lose by matrimonial connections than others, common prudence teaches them the value of a proper caution. Thus a young lady never goes in public without the eye of some experienced matron to watch her movements. She cannot appear at a play, ball, &c. &c. without a father, or a brother, at least, and it is thought far more delicate and proper that she should have a female guardian. She never rides nor walks — unless in the most public places, and then commonly with great ment substantially kind. " For instance," he said, " you will not, half the time, give a lady the wall in passing in the street." " Very true," returned the American, " we carry our politeness much further ; we are humane. There is not a street in all America with- out trottoirs, and most of them, as you well know, are broad and comfortable. It is true, we inherit the custom from England ; but had we not, the necessities of woman alone would have caused us to adopt some such plan for her relief. We commonly take the right in passing, because it is most convenient to have a general rule. If any thing, the wall is neither so safe nor so agreeable as the outer side of the walk." Now it appears to the writer, that this reply contains the very essence of the kindness of man to woman in America. There is little show in it ; but every thing that is con- siderate and useful. . •ill < 'ft'; ■ 260 ( ONHDINCi PUACTICK OF TIIK COITNTUV. reserve— attended by a sinj^le man, unless indeed under circumstances of a peculiar nature. In short, she pursues that course which rigid delicacy would prescribe, without however betraying: any marked distrust of the intentions of the other sex. These customs are relaxed a little as you descend in the scale of society ; but it is evidently more because the friends of a girl with ten or twenty thousand dollars, or of a family in middle life, have less jealousy of motives than those of one who is rich, or otherwise of a particularly desirable con- nection. I shall close this long and discursive epistle with one more distinctive custom, that may serve to give you an idea of the tone and simplicity of this so- ciety. There is something repugnant to the delicacy of American ideas in permitting a lady to come, in any manner, in contact with the world. A woman of almost any rank above the labouring classes, is averse to expose herself to the usual collisions, bargainings, &c. &c., of ordinary travelling. Thus, the first thing aa American woman requires to commence a journey, is a suitable male escort ; the very thing that with us would be exception- able. Nothing is more common, for instance, when a husband or a brother hears that a re- spectable acquaintance is about to go in the same steam-boat, stage, or on the same route, as that in which his wife or sister intends to journey, than to request the former to become her pro- KAUKLY AT.! SKI). IMNIXGS OF A B ACM KI.OH. 207 lector. The request is rarely refused, and the trust i*« always considered flattering, and com- monly sacred. Here you see that the very cus- tom which in Europe would create scandal, is here resorted to, under favour of good morals and directness of thought, to avert it. Cadwallader assures me that he was pained, and even shocked, at meeting well-bred women running about Europe attended only by a footman and a maid, and that for a long time he could not divest himself of the idea, that they were unfortunate in having lost all those male friends, whose natural duty it was to stand between their helplessness and the cold calculating selfishn ss of the world. There would be some relief to the etimd of our desolation, gal- lant Jules, could our own single-blessedness take refuge in the innocent delights of such a servi- tude ! — Adieu. TO THE COMTE JULES DE BlfcTHIZY. New York, There is a secret pleasure in discoursing of the habits, affections, and influence of the sex, which invariably leads me astray from all other objects. I find, on perusing my letter-book, that the temp- ts'u fe f' t: 11 •51 T 2G8 l-EAVKS NEM^ YORK FOR THE IVTKKIOR. tation of treating on the usages of the American women, completely lured me from a recollection of the fHc in ^hich I was happy enough to see so many of the fair creatures congregated. It is now too late to return to a description of a scene that would require hours to do it justice, and we must, in consequence, take our departure ab- ruptly for the interior of the state of New York. It had been previously arranged that Cadwallader and his ^— — acquaintance should take passage in a steam-boat that was destined to receive La Fayette, and which was to depart, at a stated hour, from the terrace of the casile garden itself. It must be confessed that these republicans have given a princely reception to their venerable guest. It forms one portion of their plan of hos- pitality, that he is to receive every accommoda- tion to which he is entitled by his rank and services, and every facility of movement possible, without the least pecuniary cost. At every city, and indeed at every hamlet he enters, lodgings, table, carriage, and, in short, all the arrangements of a well-ordered establishment are made at the ex- pense of the citizens. The government has nothing further to do with it, than that it offered him a vessel of war to conduct him to the cc untry, and that it has issued orders that their ancient general should be received with the customary military honours at the different military and naval esta- blishments, &c. that he may choose to visit. Every SPONTANEOUS TRIIU'TES TO I, A FAVtrTI.. 2G9 R n thing else is left to the good will and grateful affection of the people, and nobly do they press forward to lay their little offerings on the altar of gratitude. The passage of La Fayette by land is invariably conducted under an escort of local cavalry, from town to town, while he never enters a sta^e that he is not received either by its go- vernor in person, or some suitable representative, who charges himself with all that is necessary to the comfort of the guest during the time that he is to remain in those particular territories. The receptions, entertainments, and contributions of the several towns are made subject to this general controul, and by this means confusion is avoided, and dispatch, an important part where so much is to be done, is commonly secured. On the present occasion, La Fayette was to present himself in the towns on the banks of the Hudson ; to examine the great military school at West Point, and to revisit many of those scenes of peculiar interest in which he had been an im- portant actor five and forty years before. A capacious, comfortable, and even elegant steam- boat, was appropriated to his use.* It might K % * The luxury of the American steam-boats is peculiar to the na- tion. Those of England are certainly next to them in size, shew, and elegance ; but the writer thinks they cannot be said to be equal in either. Their number, considering the population of the country, is amazing. There cannot be less than fifty, that ply on the waters which communicate with the city of New York alone. On the 270 DKPARTURE FOIl ALBANY. lll'DSON' RIVFH. readily have transported several hundred souls, and one or two hundred could sleep beneath the decks with as much comfort as is usually found in the limited space of any vessel. A little after midnight we were told it was ne- cessary to depart. Our baggage and servants were already on board, and following the motions of La Fayette, who tore himself from a crowd of the fair and affectionate daughters of America, that seemed in truth to regard him with eyes of filial affection, we left the brilliant scene together. The boat was in readiness, and stepping on her decks from the lower terrace beneath the walls of the castle, in five minutes we were making swift progress along the noble river of the north, as it is often called in this country. For a few minutes we saw the halo of light which hung about the scene we had quitted, and heard the soft sounds of the distant music diffusing themselves on the Mississippi and its tributaries, there are near a hundred, many of which are as large as small frigates. Of their elegance it may be said that one is now running on the Hudson, which, besides a profus-j expenditure of marble, mahogany, the beautiful bird's-eye maple of the country, and all the other customary ornaments, has its cabins actually surrounded by compartments painted in land- scapes, &c. &c. by artists who would occupy highly creditable situa- tions among their brethrei. in Europe. This boat has run from New York to Albany, a distance of about one hundred and forty- seven miles, in eleven hours and a-half. Every day, too, is exhibit- ing improvements in machinery and form, as also in luxury and comfort. . , MORNING. RIVKR COMPARED TO OTHERS, 271 water, and then came the gloomier objects of the sleeping town, with its tall, straight spires, its forests of masts, and its countless rows of battle- ment walls, and of chimneys, in brick. The whole company, which consisted of some fifty or sixty, immediately retired to their berths, and in a few minutes the dashing of the wheels against the water, and the dead, dull movement of the engine, lulled me to sleep. I was up long before most of the company. La Fayette was on deck, attended by one or two foreigners, who, like myself, were anxious to lose as little as possible of the glorious scenery of this renov/ned river, and two or three Americans, who had reached that time of life when sleep is getting less necessary than it was in youth. The night had been foggy and unusually dark, and we had lost some time by touching on an oyster bank that lies in one of the broadest parts of the river. This delay, however, though it served to discon- cert some of the arrangements of the towns above, was certainly propitious to our wishes, since it enabled us, who had never before been on this water, to see more of its delightful landscapes. As I do not intend often to molest you with de- scriptions that cannot be considered distinctive, you will bear with me for a moment while I make a little digression in favour of the Hudson, which, after having seen the Rhine, the Rhone, the Loire, the Seine, the Danube, the Wolga, the .•■Mm ill !S.- I ) S 272 DESCHIPTION OF THE HUDSON. Dnieper, and a hundred others, I fearlessly pro- nounce to embrace a greater variety of more noble and more pleasing natural objects, than any one of them all. For the first fifty miles from its mouth, the Hudson is never much less than a mile in width, and, in two instances, it expands into small lakes of twice that breadth, running always in a direc- tion a little west of north. The eye, at first, looks along an endless vista, that narrows by distance, but which opposes nothing but distance to the view. The western shore is a perpendicular rock, weather-worn and venerable, bearing a little of the appearance of artificial parapets, from which word it takes its name. This rock has a very equal altitude of about five hundred feet. At the foot of this wall of stone, there is, occasionally, room for the hut of some labourer in the quarries, which are wrought in its side, and now and then a house is seen seated on a narrow bottom, that may furnish subsistence for a few cattle, or, per- haps, a garden for the occupant. The opposite bank is cultivated to the water, though it is also high, unequal, and broken. A few villages are seen, white, neat, and thriving, and of a you'thful, vigorous air, as is generally the case with an American village, while there is scarcely an eligi^ ble site for a dwelling that is not occupied by a villa, or one of the convenient and respectable looking farm-houses of the country. Orchards, SKCOND DIVISION OF THE SCEXKRV. 273 cattle, fields of grain, and all the other signs of a high domestic condition, serve to heighten the contrast of the opposing banks. This description, short and imperfect as it is, may serve to give you some idea of what I should call the first distinc- tive division of this extraordinary river. The second commences at the entrance of the High- lands. These are a succession of confused and beautifully romantic mountains, with broken and irregular summits, which nature had apparently once opposed to the passage of the water. The elements, most probably assisted by some violent convulsion of the crust of the earth, triumphed, and the river has wrought for itself a sinuous channel through the maze of hills, for a distance of not less than twenty miles. Below the High- lands, though the parapets and their rival banks form a peculiar scenery, the proportions of objects are not sufficiently preserved to give to the land, or to the water, the effect which they are capable of producing in conjunction. The river is too broad, or the hills are too low. But within the Highlands, the objection is lost. The river is re- duced to less than half its former width, (at least it appears so to the eye,) while the mountains rise to three and four times the altitude of the parapets. Rocks, broken, ragged, and fantastic ; forests, through which disjointed precipices are seen form- ing dusky backgrounds ; promontories ; dark, deep bays ; low sylvan points ; elevated plains ; VOL. I. T ^:'^ -+i.; . t 1 i 274 highlands: wkst point. gloomy, retiring vallies ; pinnacles ; cones ; ram- parts, that overhang and frown upon the water ; and, in short, almost every variety of form in which the imagination can conjure pictures of romantic beauty, are assembled here. To these natural qualities of the scenery, must be associated more artificial accessories than are common to Ame- rica. The ruins of military works are scattered profusely among these wild and ragged hills, and more than one tale of blood and of daring is re- counted to the traveller, as he glides among their sombre shadows. To these relics of a former age, mu?t be added the actual aud flourishing establishment at the " Point," which comprises a village of academic buildings, barracks, and other adjunct'. I remember nothing more striking in its way than a view up one of the placid reaches of this passage. The even surface of the water, darkened here and there with broad shadows from a pyramid of rock ; the glorious hue of a setting sun gilding the green sides of a distant mountain, over which the vark passage of a cloud was occasionally to be traced, resembling the flight of some mighty bird ; with twenty or thirty lagging sails, whitening the channel from whose smooth surface they were reflected as from that of a mirror, formed the picture. Above the Highlands, the river again assumes a different charactei'. From the bay of Newburg to that of Hudson, a distance at least of sixty N les |urg rillUI) DIVISION OF TIIK UIVIK. 275 or seventy miles, it appears like a succession of beautiful lakes, each reach preserving the pro- portions and appearance of a separate sheet of water, rather than of part of a river. There are a few of these detached views that may compete with any of Italy, and to one in particular there is a noble background of mountains, removed a few miles from the water, which are thrown together in splendid confusion. From Hudson to Albany, some thirty miles, the Hudson acquires more of the character of a river, according to our European notions. It is dotted with islands, much like the Seine abo^^e Caudebec, and its scenery is picturesque aud exceedingly agreeable. This character, indeed, is preserved even to Waterford, a few miles further, and above the point where its waters are increased by the contributions of the Mohawk. At Waterford, one hundred and eighty miles from the sea, it becomes a reduced and rural stream, about as large as the Seine at Paris, and can be traced for leagues, sometimes still, lovely, and green with islands, and sometimes noisy, rapid, and tumbling, until you reach its sources in the rugged, broken mountains of the northern counties of the state. There are far mightier streams in this country than the Hudson, but there is not one of scenery so diversified and so pleasing. The Rhine, with its cities, its hun- dred castles, and itn inexhaustible recollections, T 2 l\ ■■\l^ nil !A -^^ \ - ' ■ ■ •'I'U.' mil 276 IMPORTANCE OF THE IIKillLANU PORT. has charms of its own ; but when time shall lend to the Hudson the interest of a deeper association, its passage will, I think, be pronounced un- equalled. At present, even, it is not without a character of peculiar moral beauty. The view of all the improvements of high civilization in rapid, healthful, and unequalled progress, is cheering to philanthropy; while the countless villas, country houses, and even seats of reason- able pretension, are calculated to assure one, that, amid the general abundance of life, its numberless refinements are not neglected. The Highlands had been the great military position of the Americans during the struggle for their independence. The scattered population of the country, at that time, lay along the shores of the Atlantic, between the forty-third and the thirty-third degrees of latitude. Perhaps one half of the entire physical strength of the country then existed in the states of New England. It is well known, that after the insurrection had as- sumed the character of a war, Great Britain, instead of maintaining, was obliged to resort to the more established principles of a regular contest to recover her former dominion. She obtained the possession of Montreal and New York. Nature, by means of the Hudson and the northern lakes, offered extraordinary facili- ties of communication between the two places ; and politic'.*ns, at the distance of three thou- A FAVOURITE SCHEME OF THE WAR OF 177(J. 277 sand miles, as they studied the map, vainly imagined that the cord of moral connection could be severed as easily as one of a more perishable nature. It was believed, that by marching armies from the opposite extremities, and leaving sufficient garrisons at the most important points along their routes, the inter- course between the eastern and the other states could be so far interrupted as to render con- quest certain. There can be no doubt that the success of such a plan would for a time have thrown great embarrassment in the way of the Americans, though it is morally certain it would have assured the final failure of the royal cause. The idea of covering a country, peopled like that in dispute, with niilitary posts, ought to have been deemed too absurd for serious consi- derixi'on. A power stronger than even that of the bayonet had already taught the intended victims of this plan confidence in themselves and in their cause. It is clear that the scheme could only suc- ceed in a nation,whose people had been accustomed to consider themselves as appendages to, instead of the controllers of, a political system. It would have been giving to the Americans a vast ad- vantage already possessed by their enemies, by dividing the power of the latter, and in inviting attack, as it must have indicated the points against which a superior force might have been easily directed. The experiment was afterwards made iM n! i\ u. U I It a 11 p1 hi m i 278 II K A SONS AGAINST IIS StCCKSS. in the less populous states of the south, and com- pletely failed, most of the garrisons being captured in succession. One might almost fancy he saw the stubborn yeomanry of New England leaving their ploughs for a week, in order to mingle in the pas- time of reducing a hostile garrison. In short, the plan was German, and however successful it might have been between the Rhine and the Danube, it would have infallibly ended in disgrace, on the banks of the Hudson. It did end in disgrace, though time was not given for its complete deve- lopment. The yeomanry of New England, instead of waiting for that portion of the royal force which debouched from the St. Lawrence to commu- nicate with their brethren on the Hudson, saw fit to divert their course, and marched the whole of what was, in that day, a powerful army, prisoners of war to Boston. This was merely effecting in gross, that which, under other circumstances, would have infallibly been done in detail. In America man had early discovered that the social machine was invented for his use, and it would have required something far more powerful than the display of a line of ensigns to direct him from the great object on which he had gravely, deliberately, and resolutely determined. Still as every foot of land acquired was so far a conquest as its sovereignty formed a portion of the disputed territory, it cannot be supposed that the Ameri- cans were indifferent to the possession of the 'H ATTEiMPT TO nKTKAY THE AMERICAN CATSK. 279 strungesi fortress of their country. By holding the Highlands they rendered the communications between the states more easy, and they kept a con- stant check on the movements of the royal forces in the vastly important city of New York. West Point, the heart of their positions in these moun- tains, had been strongly fortified, and its defence was justly enough considered as of the greatest moment to the cause. After the arrival of the French army at Rhode Island, a conquest which had baffled all the previous exertions of the British, should have been abandoned as impossi- ble. It would seem a hope was indulged that what could not be achieved by force of arms, might be effected by means less martial. The officer in command of West Point, a man of talents and of great personal courage, but one of depraved morals, was unfortunately disposed to make advances which Sir Henry Clinton, the English commander-in-chief, was glad to meet. It is well known that the British Adjutant- General Andr6 was employed as a negociator on this occasion. La Fayette had been an actor in some of the scenes connected with this interesting event, and as we walked the deck together, and gazed upon the mountains which environed us, he revived his own recollections, and delighted some half dozen greedy auditors, by dwelling on the more familiar incidents of that day. It appears that a British sloop of war had ■ ( HI li'^. ^ f^ R. * ,> >:>■ 280 andrk: man'nkk of his captlue. ascended the river, and anchored in a wide bay a few miles below the entrance of the Highlands. This sloop (the Vulture) had brought Major Andr6 and, having landed him, was » ;ing his return. The adjutant general was indi.oed to enter within the lines of the American sentinels for the purpose of acquiring a knowledge of the force, condition, and defences of his enemy ; an act that clearly committed him as a spy. His retreat was ren- dered difficult, and instead of returning to the Vulture, he assumed a disguise, and attempted to regain New York by traversing the intervening county of West-Chester. On his road he was intercepted by three young American farmers, who, according to the usage of the country, were in ambush to await the passage of any small party of the British, or of their friends, who might chance to come that way. By these young men was Andr6 arrested. The Americans were in common parlance termed the party abovCt (in reference to the course of the river,) and their foes, the party below. As there was nothing im- mediately in view about the person of Major Andr^ to betray his real character, it is quite pos- sible that, had he retained his presence of mind, he might, after a short detention, have been per- mitted to pass. But his captors manifested much more sagacity than the British officer himself. Some allowance, however, ought in justice to be made for the critical situation of the latter. He WANT OK IMIKSKXCK OF MINI). 281 eagerly demanded ** To which party do you belong?'* The Americans adroitly answered *' below." To this simple artifice he became a victim, immediately confessing himself a British officer. Now, it is quite plain to us, who specu- late on the death of this young officer, that had he possessed a quickness of intellect equal to the questionable office he had assumed, his miserable fate might have been averted. By assuming the character of an American he would clearly have been safest, let his captors prove to be what they would ; since, if enemies, it might have lulled their suspicions, or if friends, they would at most have conducted him to the British camp, the very spot he was risking his life to gain. Providence had ordained it differently. He wa searched, and plans of the works at the Point, with other im- portant communications, were found about his person. It then became necessary to intreat and to promise. Though the English were known to pay well, and to possess the means of bribing high, these young yeomen were true to the sacred cause of their country. Neither gold, nor honours, nor dread of the future, could divert them from their duty. The helpless adjutant- general was conveyed to the nearest post, de- livered into the hands of its commandant, was sent to head quarters, tried, and finally hanged. ^ During the time Arnold was maturing his work of treason, Washinofton >as absent from the .1 J' *i *'U-'t il U..4;* K )■ iili I 282 Ol'I'OHTlfVK AI{UIVAI. nh' WASillN'OTOV. army, in the adjoining state of Connecticut, whither he liad gone to arrange a plan for the ensuing and final campaign of tlie contest, with the commandant of the French forces. La Fayette was of the party. It happened that these military chiefs arrived in the mountains on the very morning when the arrest of Andre (under a fictitious name; was made known at 'the Point.' The residence of Arnold was on the east side of the river. The principal fortresi, or the * Point,' was nearly opposite. Washington and his suite were engaged to breakfast at the former place, but a desire to inspect certain posts in the passes, interfered with the arrangement. Two aides* were despatched with an apology, and a promise to repair tb*^. failure at dinner. The other guests were at table (at breakfast), when a letter was put into the hands of Arnold, which he read without betraying any emotion. It was the report of the officer in advance, that he had arrested a " John Anderson," of the British army, under circumstances of great suspicion. As this was the name Andr6 had assumed by agreement, the traitor instantly knew his danger. After a moment's pause, he left the table, at which a dozen officers of rank had assembled to greet * Hamilton, an aid of Washington, afterwards so distinguished in the history of his country ; and M'Henry, an aide of La Fayette, subsequently Secretary of War. It is pleasant to trace these young men in the events of their early lives, through these famihar scenes. EXTUAOUDINAIIY tOOLNKSb OK AUNOI.I). 'i^ii Washington, and ascended to his chamber. His wife had been able to penetrate an uneasiness ■which less anxious eyes had failed to detect. Apologizing to her guests, she followed her hus- band to his room. It is suspected that she had been privy to his intentions to betray the Ameri- can c?use. He communicated the failure of the plan, and his own imminent danger, in as few words a3 possible. He then left her in a swoon, stepping over her insensible body, and telling a maid to give assistance, he passed through the room, informing his guests, with the utmost coolness, that his wife was seized with a sudden indisposi- tion, and that there was a necessity for his own immediate departure for the Point, in order to prepare for the military reception of the comman- der-in-chief. Although the known cupidity of the man had excited very general disgust, his devotion to his country, which had been tried in so many battles, was not in the slightest degree distrusted. As yet, you will remember, he had all the evidences of his guilt in his own pos- session. Quittmg the house, Arnold mounted a horse belonging to one of his aides, and gallopped a half mile to a place where his barge was in wait- ing. He entered the boat with a favourable tide, and commanded the crew to pull down the river. His object was to get as soon as possible beyond the reach of the cannon of the forts. Of course Hi m 1 1^ a Iff' )■ ' , i 284 HIS SUCCESSFUL AND NARROW ESCAPE. he was obeyed, and, as no suspicions had been excited, he was believed to be at the Point, when, in truth, he was making the best of his way along the lovely mountain-river I have endeavoured to describe. The distance to go before he was safe, was seventeen or eighteen miles, for all the commanding points were in the keeping of his injured countrymen. By the aid of great encou- ragement, his crew (who were deceived by a tale that he was going on board the Vulture with a flag on urgent business) made such exertions as enabled him to get through the lower pass, before the courier with the intelligence of his treason had arrived. Throughout the whole affair this wretched man, who has acquired a notoriety that promises to be Jis lasting as that of Erostratus, manifested the utmost coolness and decision.* Arnold had scarcely got beyond the reach of the cannon on the Point, when Washington, La Fayette, and Knox, another distinguished general, with their several suites, arrived. The commander- in-chief was naturally enough surprised that his host was not at home to receive him. An aide of Arnold (Major Franks) apologized so warmly for the absence of his general, as to create doubts * The writer has had the double advantage of listening to the deeply interesting details of La Fayette, and of hearing Arnold's ovrn statement ficm a British officer, who was present when the latter re- lated his escape at a dinner given in New York, with an impudence that was scarcely less remarkable than his surprising self-possession. WANT OF SUSPICION IN WASHINGTON. 285 of his own faith when the facts came to be known. After a short delay, Washington, with most of the company, crossed the river to the fortress. Some surprise was expressed, as they approached the shore, that no movement was seen among the troops ; and they landed with- out the slightest evidence of their being ex- pected visiters. The officer in command soon appeared, and made his excuses for not paying his superior the customary honours, on the ground of ignorance that he was expected. " Is not General Arnold here?" demanded Washing- ton. " No, Sir ; we have not seen him on this side of the river to-day." Some amazement was expressed among the generals ; but treason was so little in consonance with the feeling of the times, that not the smallest suspicion was even yet excited. Washington continued on the west side of the river, until the hour for dinner was near, when he returned to the abandoned residence of the fugitive, to comply with his en- gagement of the morning. As the party ap- proached the house, Colonel Hamilton, who had not crossed the river, was seen pacing its court- yard in a high state of excitement. He held in his hands a bundle of papers. He gave the latter to the commander-in-chief, and they retired to- gether. These papers were the plans, &c. found on the person of Andr6, and they fully explained his object, and betrayed the guilt of Arnold. ■*; If? '"rf 19 28G M AiWKR OF IKAUNING I'lIF. TRUTH. Had not Washington been so near, it is probable that Arnold Mould have used his authority to liberate the British officer, and then governed his own conduct by circumstances ; but the presence of that illustrious man was fated to be of service to his country in more ways than one. As has been seen, the traitor had only time to consult his own selfish apprehensions. He fled like a thief. La Fayette, still ignorant of what had occurred, was dressing for dinner, when his aide, M*Henry, entered for his pistols. Without explanation, he and Hamilton mounted their horses, and gallopped through the passes of the mountains, in order to interrupt the flight of Arnold. It has since ap- peared, that the officer in advance (a Colonel Jamieson) had despatched his first messenger with the report that had reached the hands of Arnold before examining the papers, but that he lost no time in repairing the mistake the instant he had perused them. This short interval saved the life of Arnold, and forfeited that of his asso- ciate. When Washington and La Fayette met, the former put the report of Jamieson into the hands of the latter, and said, with tears in his eyes, " Arnold is a traitor, and has fled to the British !" General Knox was present at this scene. Washington now sought an interview with the wife of the traitor. He found her raving, though sensible of his presence and character. She im- J ,"1 TERROR OF MRS. ARNOr.n : COXFIDENCK. 287 Ithe igh lim- plored him not to injure her, and was so com- pletely under the influence of terror as to heg " he would not murder her child." Commending her to the care of the attendants, he left the room. Notwithstanding the immense stake that was in- volved in the treason, and his entire ignorance of its extent, the self-possession of thiis extraordinary man was undisturbed. For a single moment he had appeared to mourn over the moral depravity that could expose so fair a cause to so base an action, but it would have baffled the keenest eye to have traced in his countenance the existence of the slightest alarm. He entered the dining-room calm and dignified as usual, and apologizing for the absence of both host and hostess, he invited the company to be seated. It was only in the course of the entertainment,^ so extended and com- plete was the influence of his collected and im- posing manner, that the news of the event was circulated from ear to ear in whispers. The commandant of the advanced post of the highlands, at Stoney Point, was at hand. This officer (a Colonel Cole) was a warm friend and a protegS of Arnold. He had even carried his at- tachment so far, as to have fought a duel in defence of the traitor's character but a short time before the exposure of the treason. Washington now sent for him. " Colonel," he said, ** we have been deceived in the character of General Arnold; he has betrayed us. Your post may be attacked ivir^' ■j. :^ m 't 288 TREASON CONFIXED TO AHNOLD. ^ this very night : go to it without delay, and de- fend it, as I know you will." This noble con- fidence was not misplaced. Cole could with difficulty speak. Pressing his hand on his heart, he found words merely to utter — ** Your excel- lency has more than rewarded all I have done, or ever can do for my country," and departed. Is there not something noble, and worthy of the best days of classic recollection, in the single-minded and direct character which marked the events of this glorious contest ? One loves to dwell on that integrity, which having been compelled to give credit to one act oi baseness, refuses to believe that another can be meditated. I know no fact more honourable to the American character than the one which proves that, notwithstanding the great trust and high character the traitor had once enjoyed, his influence ended the instant he was known to be unworthy of confidence. While on board the Vulture, he essayed in vain to tempt the Serjeant and six men, who composed the crew of his own boat, to follow his fortunes, tho igh every offer which might tempt men of their class was resorted to, in order to induce them to change their service. " If General Arnold likes the King of England, let him serve him," said the stubborn Serjeant ; " we love our country, and intend to live or die in support of her cause." The traitor must have felt the bitter degradation of his fall, even in this simple evidence of his waning power. Ex- class IMPLDENT LKTTKR OF ARNOLD. 289 asperated at their refusal, Arnold would have kept them as prisoners, but the English captain was far too honourable to lend himself to so dis- graceful a transaction. They returned as they came, under the protection of a flag. The day passed away in the reflections and precautions such a discovery would be likely to produce. In the evening the barge returned from the Vulture, bearing an insolent letter from the traitor to the commander-in-chief, in which, among other undignified and vain threats, he denounced the vengeance of his new masters, unless certain conditions which he wished to im- pose, were implicitly 'egarded. The impetuous character of Washington's native temper is as well known as the unrivalled self-command he had acquired. While his eye glanced over this impudent and characteristic communication from Arnold, it appeared, by his countenance, as if a burst of mighty indignation was about to escape him« Recovering himself as it were by magic, he turned to one of his aides with surpris- ing moderation and dignity, and said, " Go to Mrs. Arnold, and inform her, that, though my duty required no means should be neglected to arrest General Arnold, I have great pleasure in acquainting her that he is now safe on board a British vessel of war." It ought to be added that, while the American government proceeded steadily to their object VOL. T. V •M:. %m •i 4; ; I- A'k 290 MKS. AltNOlJ). SITUATION Ol A\I)H<^:. throughout the rest of this interesting transaction, guided only by their reason, and utterly disre- garding the menaces of the English general, the wife of the traitor continued to receive every attention which delicacy could prescribe. She was permitted to go first to her friends in Phila- delphia, and soon after was sent, under the pro- tection of a flag, to her husband in New York. There is something consoling to humanity to find, even at a moment when war is assuming its most revolting and horrid forms, that principles can be grafted so deeply in our natures, as to leave no fear that the more sacred ties of so^jety shall be in danger of violation, and that the feeble and dependent may be confident of receiving the ten- derness and protection which is their due. The fate of Andre became an object of the keenest solicitude to both armies. From the commencement of the struggle, to the last hour of its continuance, the American authorities had acted with a moderation and dignity that gave it a character far more noble than that of a rebellion. In no one instance had the war been permitted, on their part, to assume the appearance of a strug- gle for personal aggrandizement. It was men battling for the known rights of human nature. But a crisis had arrived when it was to be seen whether they would dare to expose the defence- less of their land, to the threatened retaliation of a powerful foe. Such is the wayward feeling o^ i I I'll l)l>INiOX Ol" ANDRKS KN'TI.HIMM SE. '201 man, that it is far less offensive to his power to kill a general in open conflict, than to lead a subordinate deliberately to an execution, which is sanctioned only by a disputed authority. In the present instance, however, the offender was not only an officer of a high and responsible situa- tion, but he was one who had made himself dear to the army by his amiable qualities, and emi- nently useful to its commander by his attainments. I think, among men of high and honourable minds, there can be but one opinion concerning the merit of his enterprise. There is something so repug- nant to every loyal sentiment in treason, that he who is content to connect himself, ever so re- motely, with its baseness, cannot expect to escape altogether from its odium. It is true that public opinion has, of necessity, fixed bounds which military men may approach, without commit- ting their characters for manliness and honour. Without this privilege, it is plain that a general could not arrive at the knowledge which is re- quisite to enable him to protect his command against attempts, that admit of no other control, than the law of the strongest. But it is also true, that the same sentiment has said it is dangerous to reputation to pass these very limits. Thus, while an officer may communicate with, and em- ploy a spy, he can scarcely, with impunity, become a spy himself. There is no doubt that the motive and the circumstances may so far 01! mM ^:.v. ]■ u - ?-fl i?: ft, , 'j 292 UKASONS A(iAINSr I'l". hi qualify, even more equivocal acts, as to change their moral nature. Thus, Alfred, seeking to vin- dicate the unquestionable rights of his country,, was no less invested with the moral majesty of a king, while wandering through the Danish camp, than when seated on his throne ; but it may be permitted to doubt whether the young military aspirant, who sees only his personal preferment in the distance, has a claim to be judged with the same lenity. Major Andr^ was the servant of a powerful and liberal government, that was known never to re- ward niggardly, and the war in which he served, was waged to aggrandize its power, and not to assert any of the natural rights of man. With doubtful incentives, and for the attainment of such an object, did this accomplished young soldier condescend to prostitute his high acquirements, and to tamper with treason. He did more. He overstepped the coy and reserved distance which conscious dignity preserves, even while it stoops to necessity, and entered familiarly and personally into the details of the disgusting bargain. The mere technicalities of posts and sentinels, though they may be important for the establishment of rules which are to soften the horrors of war, can have but little influence on the moral views of his conduct. The higher the attainments of the in- dividual, the greater must have been the flexibi- lity which could see only the reward in an ^it MOTIVES FOR HIS PUNISHMENT. 293 undertaking like this. As to the common-place sentiment of serving king and country, every n»an of an honest nature must feel that he would have done more honour to his sovereign and to himself by proving to the world, that the high trust he enjoyed was discharged by a man who disdained lending his talents to the miserable work of deception, than by degrading his office, his cha- racter, and his name, by blending them all, in such familiar union, with treachery. In short, while it cannot be denied that the office of a spy may be made doubly honourable by its motives, since he who discharges the dangerous duty may have to conquer a deep moral reluctance to its service, no less than the fear of death, I think it must be allowed that the case of Major Andre was one that can plead no such extraordinary exemp- tion from the common and creditable feeling of mankind. The Americans were determined to assert the dignity of their government. The question was not one of vengeance, or even one of mere pro- tection from similar dangers in future. It involved the more lofty considerations of sovereignty. It was necessary to show the world that he who dared to assail the right i of the infant and strug- gling republics, incurred a penalty as fearful as he who worked his treason against the majesty of a king. The calmness, the humanity, the modera- tion, and the inflexible firmness, with which this serious duty was performed, are worthy of all m %i '■M'': ' ? ' ■ ' ■ U >■ 'it I 'H 294 IIH.MNKSS OK THE A .M KKIC A \ S. n^ •;it praise. While the Enj^lish general was vainly re- sorting to menaces, the American authorities were proceeding with deliberation to their object. A feeling of universal compassion was excited in favour of him who had been captured, which pro- bably received some portion of its intenseness from the general indignation against him who had escaped. While the necessity of an example, in an offence as grave as this, was felt by all, it re- quired no peculiar moral vision to see that the real criminal was free. Some time is said to have been lost, during which Washington had reason- able hopes of capturing Arnold,* in which case he intended that justice should be appeased by one victim. But this plan was frustrated by an unfore- seen occurrence, and then it became necessary to let the law take its course. It has often been erroneously stated, that, anxious to vindicate himself in the eyes of foreign nations, Washington employed the European generals in the service, on the court which was to decide the fate of Andre. Every general officer in his army was a member, and the foreigners were nec.essarily included. Whatever might have been the original error of Andr^, in accepting a duty of so doubtful a nature, there is but one opinion of his subsequent conduct. It was highly noble and manly. The delicacy of the court, and his own frankness, were * See History of Serjeant Cliarape, in Lee's Memoirs. I 1^ ADMIUAIU-K CANDOrU Ol" AM)H6. 295 alike admirable. Though admonished to say nothing that might commit himself, he disdained subterfuge, or even concealment. A pretence had been set up by the British general, that he had entered the American ranks, under the protection of a flag. He was asked if he himself had enter- tained such an opinion. " Had I come with a flag, I might have returned with a flag ;'' was his noble answer. He had landed at the entrance of the Highlands, and at a point where a sentinel had not been posted for a long time. It was thought, in the army, that Arnold had caused a sentinel to be posted there anew as a precaution of safety, in the case of detection. He might have pretended that his only object was to entrap his enemy. Andr6 himself confessed, that when hailed by this sen- tinel, he thought himself lost. This confession, alone, had other proofs been wanting, was enough to show his own opinion of the legal character of his enterprise. He proceeded, however, and was conducted by Arnold farther into the works, (how far is not known,) and then, he concluded, after having confessed these circumstances himself, "I was induced to put on this wretched coat !" laying his hand on the sleeve of the disguise he had as- sumed. The opinion of the court was unanimous : he was judged to come perfectly within the tech- nical denomination of a spy, and was sentenced to meet the fate of one. After his condemnation. Major Andre received mm r 1.1 ' ' 11. 1 1* m . Ill ' :i I ■ 'I hi s 290 ins NOIU.K ( ONDLCT, AND DISA 1>I»0 IN'TM KNT. every possible indulgence. A fruitless negocia- tion took place between the adverse generals, M^ith ahope, on the part of Clinton, to intimidate, and on the part of Washington in order to manifest a spirit of moderation, no less than to give the time necessary to complete the plan to arrest the arch- traitor. It was once suggested to Andr6 that he might still be exchanged for Arnold. " If Arnold could — " said Hamilton, who made the proffer. " Stop," returned the condemned man, " such a proposition can never come from inc.'' There is reason to think that Andr6 had soothed himself in the earlier part of his captivity, with hopes that were fated to be deceived. It had been the misfortune of the English to undervalue the Americans, and it was quite in nature for a young man, who, it is well known, had often indulged in bitter sarcasms against enemies he despised, to believe that a nation he held so cheap, must have some of his own awe of a government and a power he thought invincibb It is certain he always spoke of Sir Henry Clinton (the English commander-in-chief) ^itli the affection and con- fidence of a child, until he received his last letter, which he read in much agitation, thrust into his pocket, and never afterwards mentioned his general's name. He confessed his ancient pre- judices, but admitted they were all removed by the tender treatment he had received. He neither acknowledged nor denied the justice of his sen- Ills DKATII. CONDUCT OF WASllIXtiTON. 297 tence. It is known, that though he experienced a momentary shock at finding he was to suffer on a gallows, he met his deatii lieroically, and died amid the tears of all present. There were in England (naturally enough per- haps) many who affected to believe this execu- tion had sullied the fair character of Washington. But these miserable moralists and their opinions have passed away ; and while they are consigned to oblivion together, the fame they thought to have impeached is brightening, as each day proves how difficult it is to imitate virtues so rare. Among impartial and intelligent men, this very act of dignity and firmness; tempered as it was by so much humanity, adds to the weight of his imposing character. We came-to at West Point, where La Fayette landed amid a magnificent uproar of echoes, which repeated, from the surrounding mountains, the quick discharges of a small park of artillery. The great military school of the republic is estab- lished here. The buildings stand on an elevated plain, which is washed by the river on two of its sides, and is closely environed with rocky moun- tains on the others. It is altogether a wild and picturesque scene, eq ualling in beauty almost any that I remember to have visited. Perhaps a better site could not possibly have been selected for the purpose to which it is at present devoted, than West Point. The elcveSy who are to all u. H < I '■ . i^ I* r 298 MILITARY ACADEMY. intents young soldiers, enjoy, by means of the river, and the great number of steam-boat« that pass and repass each hour of the day, the advan- tage of speedy communication with the largest town in the country, while they are as completely secluded by their nearly inaccessible mountains, as can be desired. It is quite common for travel- lers to pass a few hours at this spot ; a circum- stance which affords to the cadets the incentive of a constant interest in their establishment, on the part of the better portion of the community, while they are completely protected from the danger of intercourse with the worst. The dis- cipline, order, neatness, respectibility, and scien- tific progress of the young men are all admirable. It is scarcely saying too much to add, that per- haps no similar institution in the world is superior. In Europe the military student may enjoy some means of instruction that cannot be obtained here, (though scarcely in the schools,) but, on the other hand, there are high moral advantages that are peculiar to this country. As detailed reports, however, are annually made concerning the state of this school, it is unnecessary for me to enter into a more minute account of the situa- tion in which I found it. I shall therefore content myself with adding, that there are between two and three hundred students who devote four years to the school, that they undergo numberless severe examinations, and that those M'ARS OF THE UNITED STATES. 299 who are found wanting, are invariably dismissed, without fear or favour, while those who pass are as regularly commissioned to serve in the army of the confederation. J'M TO THE COMTE JULES DE BETHIZY. Sfc. Sfc. New York, Neither the geographical situation of the United States, nor the habits of their citizens, are very favourable to the formation of a military character. Though the republic has actually been engaged in six wars, since the year 1776, only two have been of a nature to require the services of land troops in the field. The two struggles with England were close, and always, for the number engaged in the combats, obstinate and bloody, but the episode of a war with France in 1799, the two with Algiers, and that with Tripoli, only gave occasion for the courage and skill of the marine. By studying the character of the people, and by looking closely into their history, it will be found that they contain the elements to form the best of troops. In point oi physique they are certainly not surpassed. So far as the eye can judge, I should il •"■4 300 PHYSICAL FORCE OF THE MEN. IF I; f i ' Ei i IV'): say that men of great stature and strength are about as common in America as elsewhere ; while small men are more rare. I am much inclined to think that the aggregate of mere animal force would be found to be somewhat above the level of Europe in its best parts. This is not at all surprising, when one remembers the excellence and abundance of nutriment which is within the reach of the very poorest. Though little men are, without doubt, seen here, they are by no means as frequent as in England, in the southern provinces of France, in Italy, Austria, and indeed almost every where else.* As might be expected, the military qualities which the Americans have hitherto exhibited, are more resembling those which distinguish the in- dividual character of the soldier, than those higher attainments which mark an advanced knowledge of the art of war. As courage in its best aspect is a moral attribute, a nation of free- men must always be comparatively brave. In that collective energy which is the fruit of dis- cipline, the Americans, exjept in a few instances, have been sadly deficient ; but in that personal spirit, for which discipline is merely a substitute, they have as often been remarkable. They are certainly the only people who have been known to resist, with repeated success, in their character of * The writer afterwards found what he is almost tempted to call a race of big men in the south-western states. tSf MILITIA : ITS CHARACTER. A COMPARISON. 301 armed citizens, the efforts of the disciplined troops of modern times. The militia and national guards of Europe should not be compared to the militia of America, for the former have always been commanded and drilled by experienced soldiers ; while the latter, though regularly officered, have been led to the field by men in all respects as ig- norant as themselves. And yet, when placed in situations to rely on their personal efforts, and on their manual dexterity in the use of arms, they have often been found respectable, and sometimes stubborn and unconquerableenemies. The investigation of this subject has led me, perhaps, into a singular comparison. At the great battle of Waterloo, the actual English force in the field is said to have been 36,000 men. These troops undauntedly bore the assault of perhaps rather more than an equal number. This assault was supported by a tremendous train of artillery, and directed by the talents of the greatest captain of the age. It endured, including the cannonading of the artillery, for at least five hours. The official account of the British loss is 9,999 men, killed and wounded. At the affair of Bunker' s-hill, the Americans might have had between 2,000 and 2,500 yeomen actually engaged. Though these men were marshalled in companies, their captains knew little more of military service than the men themselves. There was positively no commander in the usual sense of the word. The aptitude of m' 302 EXECUTION AT BUXKER*S-HILL. these people soon enables them to assume the form of an army ; but it is plain that nothing except practice can impart the habits necessary to create good troops. At Bunker's-hill they enjoyed, in their preliminary proceedings, the advantage of a certain degree of order and method, that elevated them something, it is true, above an armed mob ; but it is probable that they could not have made, with any tolerable accuracy, a single complicated movement at their greatest leisure, much less in the confusion of a combat. Just so far, then, as the ability to pl?,ce themselves behind their imperfect defences with a certain military front was an advantage, they might be deemed soldiers ; but in all other re- spects they were literally the ordinary inhabi- tants of the country, with very indifferent fire- arms in their hands. A great deal has been said of the defences and of the position of Bunker's- hill. It is not possible to conceive a redoubt better situated for an assault than the little mound of earth in question. It could be approached within a short distance with perfect impunity, and might easily be turned. It was approached in this manner, and it was turned. As to the rail fences on the level land beneath, where much of the combat was fought, and where the British were twice repulsed with terrible loss, the defences were rather ideal than positive. Now, against this force, and thus posted, the English general LOSSES OF WATERLOO AND BUNKEr's HILL. 303 directed 3,00C of his best troops. His attack was supported by field artillery, by the fire of a heavy battery on an adjacent height, and by that of several vessels of w^ar. The Americans were incapable of making any movements to profit by the trifling advantages their position did aftbrd, and they had no artillery. They merely remained stationary to await the assault, relying solely on that quality of moral firmness, and on that aptitude which it i^ the object of this statement to eluci- date by a comparison of the results of this combat with the results of Waterloo. The English made three different attacks. Their average continuance under the fire of the Americans was less than fifteen minutes. Their loss was certainly 1,056 men, and possibly more, for it is not probable that their general would be fond, under the pe- culiar circumstances, of proclaiming its full extent. Here, then, assuming our data to be true, (and that they are substantially so I fully believe,) we have a greater comparative loss pro- duced by 2,500 husbandmen, armed solely with muskets, in forty -five minutes, than was produced by all the reiterated and bloody attacks at Water- loo. After making the necessary deductions for the diiFerence in effect between great and small numbers, it will be found thrt there is something peculiar in the destruction occasioned by the peaceful citizens of this country. I should not have drawn this comparison, if it were not to de- ■■■• I'ljl'i '■ ■'*l . i • m ir: 1 U'.j.iJ 304 REASONS FOR APTITUDE OF THE PEOPLE. \\i ■■tj n t I i ■4 f inonstrate what I believe to be one of the ine- vitable consequences of the general dissemination of thought in a people. The same directness of application is observable in the manner that the American handles his arms, as in handling his plough. The battles of this country, both by sea and land, when there has been sufficient in- ducement to make their undisciplined bodies fight at all, have always been distinguished for their destruction. Many of their officers have been so conscious of the fatal effects of their own fire as to have implored their men (militia) to give but two or three discharges, and they would answer for the victory with their heads. No doubt they often failed in their entreaties, for the history of their wars are full of frank and manly acknow- ledgments of cases in which the militia yielded to the "force of nature ; but it is also full of instances in which their eloquence or influence had more effect, and these have always proved fatally de- structive to their enemies. The battle of New Orleans will furnish a subject for a similar com- parison. There is another point of view, in which it is consolatory to study the short military history of this country. The states of New England, in which information has been so generally diffused, have always been the most dangerous to assail. A powerful force (for the times and the duty) was, in the war of 1775, early driven disgracefully from ■■♦J QUALITY OF TROOPS M'HEX DISCIPLINED. 305 their soil by the people of New England. It is true, rapid, predatory excursions were afterwards made in the country, but always under the pro- tection of a superior naval force, and with the most jealous watchfulness of detention. The only time that an army of any magnitude was trusted to mancEUvre near their borders for a campaign, it was assailed, surrounded, and captured. Such are the fruits of intelligence, disseminated among a people, that, while it adds to all their sources of enjoyment, it gives a double security to their pos- session. It would be vain to deny the excellence of the American troops when properly equipped and disciplined. If the English soldiers are admitted to be as good as common, the Americans are equal to the best. I have examined with deep interest the annals of both their wars, and I can find but a solitary instance in which (other things being equal) their disciplined troops have been defeated in open combat. • Their generals have often been out-manoeuvred and deservedly dis- graced ; but their disciplined soldiers, when fairly engaged, have, except in the case named (Hob- kirk's- hill), invariably done well. The instances in which drilled soldiers have been left to their own efforts, are certainly rare, compared to those in which they have been blended with nominal regu- lars and militia ; but they are sufficiently numerous to show the qualities of the troops. I refer you to the :f"i '■\'V \.i:\^M ' VOL. I. X 306 A UEKEREN'CK TO KORMEU iiATTLES. - 1 i affairs of Cowpens, Eutaw, and to the whole war of the south, under Greene, which was almost all the service that was exclusively done with drilled men in the revolution, and to the battles on the Nia- gara, during the late war. There are also many instances in which the regular troops (drilled men) did excellent service, in battles where they were defeated in consequence of being too few to turn the fate of the day. It is another evidence of the effects of general intelligence that, disciplined or not, the Americans are always formidable when entrenched. They have been surprised (not as often, perhaps, as they have surprised), taken by siege, though rarely, and frequently disgraced by the want of ability in their chiefs, but seldom carried by open assault. Indeed, I can find but one instance of the latter (if Bunker's-hill be excepted, where they re- treated for want of ammunition, after repelling the British as long as they had it), in a case of any importance, and in that the assault partook of the nature of a surprise (Fort Montgomery). There are fifty instances, on the contrary, in which they have given their foes a rough reception, both against attacks by land and by sea. Bunker's-hill was certainly a victory, while the means of re- sistance lasted. To these may be added, the affairs of New Orleans, Fort Mifflin, Fort Moul- tries, Candusky, Red Bank, Tiger River, Fort Erie, and numberless others. PRESENT DISPOSITION OF THE COUNTUV. 307 With this brief review of their mil'tary charac- ter, which does not stand as high as it deserves, merely because there has been a sad dearth of efficient leaders, capable of conducting operations on a concerted and extensive scale, I think you will agree with me that the Americans are not in much danger of being the victims of a conquest. They turn the idea themselves into high ridi- cule. Some of them go so far as to assert, that Europe, united, could not subdue a people so remote, so free, and protected by so many na- tural advantages. It is very certain, that what- ever Europe might do now, she could not over- turn this republic, if it shall remain united, fifty years hence. ' -^ The Americans seem quite determined thit a future war shall not find them so entirely without preparation as the last. In the great concerns of the day, few of us, in Europe, had time or incli- nation to lend our attention to the details of that war ; and with the exception of the actors, and perhaps a few of the leading events, little is known of it, even by the English who were parties to the struggle. As I intend to close this chapter with a brief account of the present military system of the United Slates, it may be well to revert to the means they employed in their two former con- tests. The insurrection of 1 775, was commenced under every military disadvantage. It is a well known X 2 •< -H < m 3-m 3()S Ksri.M A IK oi- riiK roHCKs i\ IWT. i ! fact that Washington kept the British army beleaguered in Boston, with an undisciplined force not always numerically superior, and which was for a long period so destitute of ammunition, that it could not have maintained a sharp conflict of half an hour. Yet the high resolution of this people supported them in the field, not as an enthusiastic and momentarily excited mob, but as grave and thoughtful men, intently bent on their object, and who knew how to assume such an aspect of order and method, in the midst of all their wants, as should and did impose on their skilful and brave enemies. Some minute calcu- lations may be useful in furnishing a correct opinion of that contest, and, of course, in enabling us to judge of the effects which intelligence (the distinctive property of the American community) has on the military character of a nation. In the year 1790, there were in the United States 814,000 white males over the age of sixteen (fractions are excluded). It is known that the population of the country has doubled in about twenty-three years. This calculation should give 407,000 of the same description of males, in the year 1767 ; or about 600,000 in the year 1779, which was the epoch when the final issue of the revolution might be said to have been decided by the capture of Burgoyne. If we deduct for age, physical disabilities, religious scruples, (as among the Quakers,) and disaffection to the cause. T"':'j:3a:r^- AN OtTMNK OF TMK WAU Oh 177(). 300 ''I. 100,000, a number probably greatly within the truth, we shall have half a million of men capable of bearing arms, to resist the power of Britain. I am sensible that this enumeration rather exceeds than falls short of the truth. England employed, at one time, not less than fifty thousand soldiers to reduce the revolted colonies, and she was in possession of all the strong holds of the country, at the commencement of the contest. The half million, badly armed, without supplies, discipline, money, or scarcely any other requisite but reso- lution, were scattered over a wide surface, a fact which, though, with their intelligence, and deter- mination, it was favourable to their success, without it would have assured their defeat in detail. The formidable army of their enemies was sustained by the presence of powerful fleets ; was led by experi- enced generals, and alvays fought bravely, and with perfect good will. Yet what was it able to perform ? From New England, the only portion of the whole country where a tolerable dense population existed, a great force was early ex- pelled in disgrace. A few cities on the sea coast were held by strong garrisons, which rarely ven- tured out with success. The only great expedition attempted in the north, was signally defeated. In the middle districts, marches of one or two hundred miles were made, it is true, and several battles were fought, commonly to the advantage of discipline and numbers -, but in the only instance ml ■ti .1 n: 310 luiicfc: TO sruDUE the colomls. where an extended chain of communication was attempted, it was destroyed by the vigour of Washington. In the south, a scattered population, and the presence of slaves, allowed a temporary, but a treacherous success. Reverses soon fol- lowed ; the conquered territory was regained, and triumph ensued. This is a summary of the out- line of that war. If to the soldiers, be added the seamen of the fleet, a species of force nearly, or quite, as useful in such a war as the troops, there could scarcely be less than 80,000 men employed in endeavouring to reduce the malcontents. When the magnitude of the stake, and the power of Britain be considered, this number will scarcely appear sufficient. Here, then, admitting these estimates to be just, you have a regular, combined and disciplined force of 80,000 men, aided by large bodies of the disaffected to th6 American cause, contending against an unpro^^ided, scat- tered, population of half a million of males, who had to resist to till their land, and to discharge all the customary obligations of society. The aid of the French was certainly of great use to shorten the conflict ; but the men who had gone through the dark period of 1776, '77, and '78, and who had cleared the southern and eastern states, by their own exertions, were not likely to submit to a power they had so often baflled. In the war of 1812, the country was much better provided^ though still miserably defective liAD I'OLICY PUUSUtD IN 1812. :ui in military preparation, and in scientific know- ledge. The whole population was about 8,000,000, and, though joined as one man on the subject of independence, and the maintenance of territory, nearly equally divided on the question of the policy of the war. A capital blunder was com- mitted at the very commencement of the struggle. Instead of placing young and talented men at the head of the armies, officers of the revolution were sought for to fill those situations. The Greenes the Waynes, the Lincolns, Knoxes, &c. of that war had followed, or preceded, their great chief to the tomb, and few or none were left, of sufficient distinction, to yield a pledge for their future usefulness. The very fact tli; . a man had served in a revolution without tclaty should have been prima facie evi- dence of his incapacity. Still, ancient officers, who had commanded regiments, or battalions, in the war of 1 770, were thought preferable to those who had acquired their information in studying the more modern tactics. The result proved as might be expected. Not a single officer of the old school (one excepted) did any thing to justify his appointment, while several of them infiicted heavy disgraces on the arms of the country. The ex- ception was general Jackson, who was far too young to have arrived at eminence in the revolu- tion, and who gained his renown by departing from the Fabian policy of that struggle, instead of pursuing it. 4 ■l;'5 :i^ 312 OUTLINE OF THE WAR OF 1812. ^~ 1 1 The last war commenced in the middle of 1812, and terminated at the commencement of 1815. With the usual exceptions of personal enterprise and courage, the two first campaigns were dis- graceful, expensive, and unmilitary. But time was already be •ii^l-' i ii ■' ,, ''M m 320 PllESKNT MIMTAllV HESOURCKS. •V) Ik . i k . :« IS '■¥ W erection, which will give security to most of the coast, and protection to the commerce of the country. By the aid of canals and great roads, armies on the frontiers can now be supplied at one- sixth of the former cost, and in half the time. Arms, artillery, and all the munitions of war, woollen and cotton clothing, in short, the whole materiel of an army, could now be furnished in the country at a reasonable cost; whereas, as late as 1812, the Americans were so entirely dependent on their enemy for a supply, that regiments were absolutely unable to march for want of so simple an article as blankets. The population has advanced from 8' to 12,000,000, and the revenue in even a greater proportion. The debt is in about the same ratio to the inhabitants as before the war ; but as the ex- penditures are not increased in the proportion of the revenue, it is in the course of rapid extin- guishment. A very few years more of peace will effect this desirable object.* It is a mistaken idea that the Americans are a people so much engaged in commerce as to be indifferent to the nicer points of national honour and military renown. It is far more true to de- scribe them as a people who have hitherto been removed from the temptation of aggression, and in whom the native principles of justice have, in consequence, never been weakened. One hears * The average amount of customs for ten years before the war, a little exceeded 12,000,000 of dollars a year; it may now be stated at about 20,000,000. SENSITIVENESS OF THE POPULATION. 321 a great deal in France, among the upper classes, of the French honour, and in England of British character, &c. &c. ; but neither of these nations has ever manifested one half the jealous watch- fulness of their rights as these simple republicans. They dared the war of their independence in the maintenance of a perfectly abstract principle, for no one pretends that the taxation of England was oppressive in fact, and at this hour it becomes very necessary for the graver heads of the nation to temper the public mind at the smallest rumour of any assault on their dignity or national charac- ter. The politicians are moderate, because they see that aggression bears an aspect with them dif- ferent from that which it assumes towards other people. An aggression by England, for instance, on America, is much like an insult offered by a man to a boy. The latter may bear it, because he can say to himself, the other will not dare to repeat it next year. Thus the American politician reasons, or rather has reasoned, that time is all-important to them. Nations do not often go to war for indem- nity, but to maintain established rights by showing spirit and force, or for conquest. Conquest the Americans do not ncjd, and there is no fear of in- juries growing into precedent against a people who are rich, out of debt, free, intelligent, intrinsically brave, however prudent they may be, and who in fifty years will number 50,000,000! I think, however, that the spirit of the people rather runs VOL. I. y 1 iflil ■ ■ ; !■ •1 trtiV ■:,;' ■it J, ' -M' ml <4ii\ '■m i^m .■r -"If: •■■,-i,.*;f I mi ^s-^ 322 1' 1 1 K I II V II !•: S E N T A TT rr U I) F, . ahead of their actual force, than otherwise. Per- haps their revolution was twenty years too soon ; and now, though lovers of peace, and frequently leligiously indisposed to war, it is quite easy to see that they chafe, to a man, at the idea of any invasion on what they deem their natural rights. It may serve to give you an idea of the different attitude which this country takes in 1825, from what it maintained in 1812, by stating two facts. It is well known that thousands of their citizens were impressed, with impunity, into the British navy before the latter period. There was a false rumour the other day, that a similar act had oc- curred on the coast of Africa. I heard but one opinion on the subject. " We must have expla- nation and justice without delay." Cadwallader says, that he can hardly imagine a case in which two or three impressments (unless subject to clear explanations) would not now produce a war. The rumour, that England was to become mistress of Cuba, has also been circulated during my visit. I have sought opportunities to demand the con- sequences. The answer has been, at least five times in six, " war." It is not difficult to see, that the day is at hand when this republic will be felt in the great general political questions of Christendom. It may then be fortunate for humanity, that the mighty power she will shortly wield, is not to be exercised to it AMERICA A PFACEFUL COUNTRY. 323 satisfy the ambition of individuals, but that they who will have to bear the burthen of the contests, will also have a direct influence on their exist- ence. Neither the institutions, nor the necessi- ties of America, are ominous of a thirst for con- quest ; but, with her widely-spread commerce, it will be impossible to avoid frequent and keen collisions with other nations. I think, for a long time to come, that her armies will be chiefly con- fined to the defensive, but another and a very different question presents itself when we turn our attention towards her fleets. rm ■ 1? TO SIR EDWARD WALLER, BART. New York, After having ascended the Hudson as far as Albany, in company with La Fayette, and taken our leave of the veteran, our faces were turned west. At that place we saw a few remaining evi- dences of the Dutch, in the names and in the construction of a good many houses, but the city (containing about 16,000 inhabitants) is chiefly modern. Our route, for sixty or seventy miles, was along one of the great thoroughfares of the interior, when we inclined to the south, and having V 2 d. \&^:M I the agricultural and manufacturing population of an entirely inland, and rather secluded portion of the state. The village is neat, better built even than is common in America, which is vastly better (for villages) than any thing of the sort in Europe. It lies on one of the smallest of those lakes with which New York abounds. There resided formerly near this village a gentle- man who is the reputed author* of a series of tales, which were,intended to elucidate the history, man- ners, usages, and scenery of his native country. As curiosity on American subjects has led to their republication in Europe, you may possibly have seen the books. One of them (the *'Pioneers") is said to contain some pretty faithful sketches of certain habits, and even of some individuals who were known among the earlier settlers of this very spot. I cannot pledge myself for the accuracy of this opinion, nor could any one be found here who appeared to possess sufficient information on the subject to confirm it. But, so far as natural objects are concerned, the descriptions are sufficiently exact, and will fortunately save me the trouble of repetition. My present object, however, in re- ferring to the book, is to lead you to a peculiarity that, I think, distinguishes not only this precise spot, but most others, within the limits of what is * The Americans, like the English, rarely put theirnamesto any light works. rm PECULIARITIES OF THE SCENERY. 341 called the ** new countries.''* You will find the stumps, wild-looking and dead trees, with other evidences of a recent origin, frequently alluded to in the descriptions of the Pioneers. There is certainly some difference in the duration of these relicks of the forest, according to the durable qualities of the original growth of timber. Still, more or less of these rude and ungainly accom- paniments are still to be found in two thirds of the landscapes of these regions. The stumps of the deciduous trees disappear in a few seasons ; but where there have been many of a perennial growth, a century will scarcely serve to destroy them. You will recollect, that those descriptions of girdled trees, of which we read in Europe, as form- ing part of American scenery, are rather excep- tions, than characteristic. It is a manner of im- proving certainly much practised at the south, and sometimes in the more northern states ; but it is far from being either the best, or the ordinary mode of clearing land, in any great section of the country. The tree is commonly felled by cutting it at such a distance from the earth, as may be most convenient to the stature of the chopper. The trunk is then divided into suitable lengths. ■: i\ m m use it is any * The Americans call all that portion of their territory which has been settled since the revolution '* new." If the state has been created since that period, it is a *' new state ;" but Oisego, and in- deed all of New York, is already getting, by comparison, to be " old." V 'ail i ? m !< _-rl Vn 1 . 1? IIB 1 342 MODE OF CLEARING LAND. and the branches are severed, and collected. With the exceptions of such trees as are selected for lumber, the whole are piled in heaps of sufficient size to ensure their consumption by fire. The latter process is called logging. The brand is next applied, and the whole field is subjected to a tem- porary, but fierce action of the element. Nothing can be more dreary and savage in aspect, than an extensive plain, or a valley, which has thus been completely blackened by fire. They are fre- quent in the newer districts, but comparatively rare in those often or fifteen years establishment. The admixture of civilization with these wild- looking memorials of a state of nature, is, indeed, the chief distinctive feature between a landscape in the newer districts of America, and one in our own Europe. There are certainly other points of difference, but I should describe this as the principal a- J most striking. One can soon become accustomed to the universal use of fences ; to even what appears to be a prodigal waste of wood in their construction ;* and to that air of 'xrt I ?^ ' * The American fences vary according to the quarter of the coun- try in which they are situated. They are often well built, and even handsome, low walls of stone. The writer saw not only farms, but large districts, subdivided into fields of from five to fifty acres in this manner. Next to these, are fences, of which the basements are made! of stone, and the summits of rails. Posts and rails come next, and are found every where in the second stage of improve- ment. A fence that is called a " worm fence," from its being com- posed of rails with the ends alternately laid on each other, in the .' M i^l'Sfi FRESH APPEARANCE OF THE COUNTRY. 343 newness and freshness which is so very striking, in the villages, farm-houses, out-buildings, and, indeed, everything artificial one sees. But time and reflection are necessary to understand the situation of a country, in which academies, churches, towns, and, in short, most things which an advanced state of civilization can produce, are blended with objects that commonly mark an infant state of society. There is no difficulty in comprehending the growth of Petersburgh, or of Odessa, for one sees the hand of the autocrat in their works j but in America, all beyond that which nature has done, is the soontaneous work of the population. There are certainly vast tracts of country where these coarser evidences of infancy have already disappeared ; but they are still to be found in many others, even in the comparatively old establishments of the western parts of New York, and Pennsylvania. form of a screen, is much in use, especially where the abundance of timber renders labour a greater object than wood. The first, and certainly the most natural, if not the most durable, division of the land, is by what is called the ♦• log-fence." This is formed by laying the trunks of trees in a line, witli their ends doubling for a couple of feet. Notches are cut in the ends of these logs, and billets of wood are laid in them to connect the ends. The upper sides of the billets are also notched, and they serve for the foundations of new tiers. Three logs piled in this manner make an efficientfence. The duration is, of course, according to the quality of the tree. Per- haps ten years may be fixed for the average. Hedges are very tare. Fences are sometimes made of stumps, extracted by the roots from the carlh. '1^.; if m I'.. % I- i ( '^44 ) TO SIR EDWARD WALLER, BART. New York, The day after we had quitted Cooperstown, we saw a collection of people assembled in front of an inn, which was the principal edifice in a ham- let of perhaps a dozen houses. Cadwallader told me this was the first day of the state elec- tion, and that this spot was one of the polls, a name which answers in some degree to the English term, *' hustings." Fortunately, the stage changed horses at the inn, and I had an oppor- tunity of examining the incipient step in ihat process which literally dictates all the national policy of this great republic. Although each state controls its own forms, not only in the elections, but in every thing else, a description of the usages ofone poll will be suffici- ently near the truth to give a correct general idea of them all. I now speak literally only of the state of New York, though, generally, of the whole Union. The elections occur once a year.* * There is one state where they occur twice — the little state of Rhode Island, which is still governed by the form of its ancient Charter, as granted by Charles 11. in 1663. As this is prac- tically the naost democratic state in the Union, it affords pretty good evixicnce that the experiment of a democratic government is not so new in America as some pretend. m MANNKR OF KL£C TIONS. 345 They last three days. In the lari^e towns, they are stationary, there being no inconveDienc^ in such an arrangement where the population is dense, and the distances short. But in the country they are held on each successive day at a different place, in order to accommodate the voters. The state is divided into counties which cover, on an average, 900 square miles each. Some are, however, larger, and some smaller. These counties are again subdivided into town- ships, covering, perhaps, eighty or ninety square miles. There is, also, great inequality in the size of these minor districts. These are the two great divisions of territory for all the ordinary purposes of government and police. The counties have courts of their own, and a certain sort of legislative body, which regulates many of their financial affairs. In order that the whole subject, however, may be rendered as clear as possible, we will begin at the base, and ascend to the superstructure of their government. The most democratic assemblage known to the laws, in which legal and binding resolutions can be enacted, are the town meetings, ^.ny number of the people may assemble when and where they please, to remonstrate, to petition, or even to plot, if they see fit ; but their acts can jnJy be recom- mendatory. The town meetings are held annually, and every citizen who has attained his majority can vote. A moderator (no bad name for a ''■;I:M i 1 ';;* ■ 1 1-;. 1 :l\4^ ki^l jijk ^ill m. 346 FORM OK TOWN iMEETINGS .* THEIR POWDER. i I I 9k;'; # :v i'l I 11 ■ ijtj ': perfectly popular assembly) is chosen by accla- mation to preside. The meeting is commonly held in some school-house, but very often in the open air. In some places, though rarely, there are town-houses. At these meetings, all the town officers are chosen. They consist of a supervisor ; three assessors, who apportion all the taxes on the individuals, whether imposed by town, county, state, or United States ; collectors, who collect all the taxes, except those laid by the United States government, which, in time of peace, are just nothing at all ; a town-clerk, who keeps certain registers ; constable, poor-officers, overseers of highways, path-masters, and a few others. The names of most of these officers indi- cate their duties. The overseers of the highway are the men who lay out the ordinary roads of the town, and who say how much tax each indi- vidual shall contribute in work or in money j and the path-masters inspect the labour. Men of property and education frequently seek the latter employment. The voting in this popular assembly may be by ballot, but it is generally done by ac- clam'tttion. There is a penalty if an individual re- fuse to serve, though they are sometimes excused by the citizens, if a good reason can be rendered. The cpui'is have also a discretionary power in im- posing aud in laying fines. I was present during the course of this excursion at one of these town- meetiiigii. I'here might have been two hundred PROCEEDINGS AT A lOWN MfcETIl^G. 347 citizens assembled before the door of a large school-house. Much good humour was blended with a sufficient dispatch of business. The Ameri- cans mingle with a perfect consciousness of their influence on the government, an admirable re- spect for the laws and institutions of their country. I heard jokes, and one or two open nomina- tions of men of property and character, to fill the humble offices of constable and pound-keeper ; but the most perfect good sense and practical usefulness appeared to distinguish all their deci- sions. There was a contest for the office of super- visor, and it was decided by a close vote. The two candidates were present, and on seemingly very good terms. They were respectable looking yeomen, and he who lost told his rival that he thought the people had shewn their judgment. There was no noise, no drinking, nor any excite- ment beyond that which one would feel in seeing an ordinary foot-race. One farmer observed, that the crows had got the taste of his corn, and unless something was done, there could be little hope for the year's crop. He therefore would propose that a reward of six cents should be paid for every dozen that should be killed, within their town, for the next six months. The resolution was opposed by a hatter, who insisted that he could take care of his hats, and that the farmers ought to take care of their corn. This logic was unsuccessful ; the price was reduced a trifle, and the resolution iPpilll t 348 BOAllD OF SUPERVISORS, WITH ITS POWKR. If mm was passed. It was then just as much a law as that which hangs a man for murder. The sum voted to meet the expense was to be apportioned with the other taxes, among the citizens by the assessors, collected by the collector, received and paid by another officer, &c. &c. After this important act of legislation, the meeting ad- journed. The next body in the scale of the government is the board of supervisors. It is composed of the supervisors of each town in a county, who htive a very similar legislative authority over the more familiar interests of the county, as is pos- sessed by their constituents in the towns them- selves. They impose taxes for all objects con- nected with the expenses of the county. Their authority is, however, a good deal circumscribed ; enactments by the state legislature being often ne- cessary to enforce their recommendations. When the question involves an expense heavier than common, and its effects are entirely local, the question is often referred to a final decision of the people in their town meetings. This board audits the accounts, and I believe it appoints a treasurer for the county. So far you see the process of government is exceedingly simple. The whole legislative duty is discharged in three or four days, and yet the decisions have great influence on the comfort and property of the people. The duties of the officers named, continue for one year,. f 1.9*1 KLKCTORAI. DISTUICTS. 349 but the same incumbents are frequently continued for a whole life, especially the collectors, trea- surers, constables, and clerks. Each town is also subdivided into school districts, and road districts. There are overseers of the schools, who regulate all that belongs to the fami- liar duties of the common schools of the country, to which any body may go. Each township is also a petty electoral district of itself, for all the ordinary purposes of the state and the United States' elections, which are held at the same time and place. The three stations taken for the convenience of the elections, as already mentioned, are selected by the inspectors of the poll, who are five or six of the town officers, named by law, and of course chosen annually by the people in their original capacity. Each county chooses its own representatives to the lower branch of the state legislature, the number being according to the amount of the population. The state is again divided into what are called sena- torial districts, composed of several contiguous counties, each of which chooses a certain number of representatives, who sit in the upper body of the state legislature. Each state has a right to send to the lower House of Congress a number of representatives, in proportion to its entire po- pulation. These representatives must be chosen by the people, but the states themselves may regulate the form. Some choose them by a general ticket ; I ■ i yi ^ ^ 1 I ll 350 MKMIJKUS OF C()\(ilU;ss, now CIIOSKN, that is to say, each citizen votes for the whole number ; and some choose them by districts, in which case each citizen votes for the member, or members, who represent his particular district. The latter is the course adopted by New York, and in most of the other large states, in which it is difficult for the characters of so many indivi- duals to be intimately known to every body. Now, complicated as this system may seem in words, it is perfectly simple in practice. It is astonishing how clearly it is understood by those who exercise it, and how difficult it is to make a foreigner get a correct idea of its details. All the elections, except those which are made at the town meetings, where other duties necessarily assemble the citizens, are held at the same time, and at the same place. Thus an American in one of the more populous states, can exercise all his constitiitional rights at an expense commonly of a ride of four or five miles at the outside, and of three hours of time. The election on the present occasion embraced senators, (always for the state,) representatives in the assembly,* governor, lieutenant-gover- nor, &c. The inspectors were assembled in a quiet room of the inn, with the ballot boxes placed 'J ■ i ^1' : * The more popular branch of the State Legislature, as it is sometimes called, though both are popular alike. The difference is principally in the term of service, and in some little exercise of power. ■'fi I: V-^^T MANNP:R or HALLOTING. 351 before them, on a table. The voters entered at their leisure, and delivered their different ballots to the officers, who, holding them up as lottery numbers are usually exhibited, called the name of the voter aloud, and then deposited the ballot in its proper box. ** 1 challenge that vote," cr 3d an individual, as the name of one man was thus pro- claimed. It appeared there were doubts of its lega- lity. An inquiry was instituted, an oath proffered explanations were made, and the challenge was withdrawn. The vote was then received. Any one who votes may challenge. Nothing could be more quiet and orderly than this meeting. A few hand-bills were posted around the house, pro- claiming the names, and extolling the qualities of the different candidates, and I heard one or two men disputing the wisdom of certain public mea- sures, rather in irony than in heat. The election was not, however, esteemed a warm one. and per- haps quite one third of the people did not attend the polls at all. Mr. Clinton, the governor, under whose administration the canal policy, as it is called, has been fostered, had declined a re-election, at the expiration of the official term preceding the one now in existence. His place had been filled by another. In the mean time his political adversaries profiting by a momentary possession of a legisla- tive majority, had ventured to assail him in a man- ner the people were not disposed to relish. He was removed from a seat at the ' ' canal board, " a measure IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 4^ 1.0 1.1 r-^KS u& — i '"^ 1'-^ ^ 6" ► <^ Va /a .&. «» "r* ■^ ^V.^*' .V ^i4 y y ^ Photographic Sdences Corporation ^^>' 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) S72-4S03 '^ ^ *\^ '>>^ '4' ^ 352 MR. CLINTON AVEXGKD BY THE PEOPLE. which was undoubtedly intended to separate him, as far as possible, from a policy that was already conferring incalculable advantage on the state. The instant Cadwallader was told of this ill- advised and illiberal measure, he exclaimed, that the political adversaries of this gentleman had reseated him in the chair of the government. When asked for an explanation, my friend an- swered, that the people, though they sometimes visited political blunders with great severity, rarely tolerated persecution. The event has jus- tified his predictions. Although a popular can- didate was selected to oppose him, Mr. Clinton has triumphed in this election by an immense ma- jority, and, in a few days, he will become governor of the state for another term of two years.* After quitting the poll, we familiarly discussed the merits and demerits of this system of popular elections. In order to extract the opinions of my friend, several of the more obvious and ordinary objections were started, with a freedom that in- duced him to speak with some seriousness. " You see a thousand dangers in universal suffrage," he said, ** merely because you have been taught to think so, without ever having seen the experiment tried. The Austrian would be very apt to say, under the influence of mere spe- • No voter can put in two ballots, since all are compelled to place them in the hands of an inspector. In case two ballots are found rolled together, both are rejected. Thus fraud is impossible. UNJVKUSAL SUFFRA(iE. 353 e- culation too, that it would be fatal to government to have any representation at all ; and a vizier of the Grand Turk might find the mild exercise of the laws, which is certainly practised in Austria Proper, altogether fatal to good order. Now we know, not from the practice of fifty years only, but from the practice of two centuries, that it is very possible to have both order and prosperity under a form of government which admits of the utmost extension of the suffrage. It is a never failing argument on these subjects,' that American order is owing to the morality of a simple condition of life, and that our prosperity is incidental to our particular geographical situation . There are many good men, and, in other respects, wise men, even among ourselves, who retain so much of the politi- cal theory which pervades the literature of our language, as to believe the same thing. For myself, I cannot see the truth of either of these positions. Our prosperity is owing to our intelligence, and our intelligence to our institutions. Every discreet man in America is deeply impressed with the im- portance of diffusing instruction among our people, just as many very well-meaning persons in your hemisphere honestly enough entertain a singular horror of the danger of school-books. Thus it is our natural means of safety to do the very thing which must, of necessity, have the greatest pos- sible influence on the happiness, civilization, and power of a nation. VOL. r. A A If 354 HKPRESENTATION OF PUOI'F.IITV. "Tliere can be no doubt that, under a bald theory, a representation would be all the better if the most ignorant, profligate, and vagabond part of the community were excluded from the right of voting. It is just as true, that if all the rogues and corrupt politicians, even including those who read Latin, and have well-lined pockets, could be refused the right of voting, honest men would fare all the better. But as it is very well known that the latter are not, nor cannot well be excluded from the right of suffrage any where, except in a despotism, we have come to the con- clusion, that it is scarcely worth while to do so much violence to natural justice, without sufficient reason, as to disfranchise a man merely because he is poor. Though a trifling qualification of property may sometimes be useful, in particular conditions of society, there can be no greater fallacy than its representation. The most vehement declaimers in favour of the justice of the representation of pro- perty, overlook two or three very important points of the argument. A man may be a voluntary associate in a joint stock company, and justly have a right to a participation in its management, in proportion to his pecuniary interest ; but life is not a chartered institution. Men are born with all their wants and passions, their means of enjoyment, and their sources of misery, without any agency of their own, and frequently to their great discom- fort. Now, though government is, beyond a NATURAL PRINCIPLES OF GOVERNMENT. 365 a doubt, a sort of compact, it would seem that those who prescribe its conditions are under a natural obligation to consult the rights of the whole. If men, when a little better than common, were any thing like perfect, we might hope to se« power lodged with safety in the hands of a rea- sonable portion of the enlightened, without any danger of its abuse. But the experience of the world goes to prove, that there is a tendency to monopoly, wherever power is reposed in the hands of a minority. Nothing is more likely to be true, than that twenty wise men will unite in opinion in opposition to a hundred fools; but nothing is more certain than that, if placed in situations to control all the interests of their less-gifted neighbours, the chance is, that fifteen or sixteen of them would pervert their philosophy to selfishness. This was at least our political creed, and we therefore admitted a vast majority of the commu- nity to a right of voting. iSince the hour of the revolution, the habits, opinions, laws, and I may say principles of the Americans, are getting daily to be more democratic. We are perfectly aware, that while the votes of a few thousand scattered individuals can make no great or lasting impres- sion on the prosperity or policy of the country, their disaffection at being excluded might give a great deal of trouble. I do not mean to say that the suffrage may not, in most countries, be ex- A A 2 .!f : i t a; li ■■>:Fi. m I ill ff: ■ 1356 EFFKCTS OF AN EXTENDED SUFFllAGE. tended too far. I only wish to show you that it is nv. ♦: here. " The theory of representation of property says, that the man who has 'little shall not dispose of the money of him who has more.* Now, what say experience and common sense? It is the man who has much that is prodigal of the public purse. A sum that is trifling in his account, may constitute the substance of one who is poorer. Beyond all doubt, the government of the world, which is most reckless of the public money, is that in which power is the exclusive property of the very rich ; and, beyond all doubt, the govern- ment of the world which, compared with its means, is infinitely the most sparing of its re- sources, is that in which they who enact the laws are compelled to consult the wishes of those who have the least to bestow. It is idle to say that an enlarged and liberal policy governs the measures of the one, and that the other is renowned for a narrowness which has lessened its influence and circumscribed its prosperity. I know not, nor care not, what men, who are dazzled with the glitter of things, may choose to say, but I am thoroughly convinced, from observation, that if the advice of those who were influenced by what is called a liberal policy, had been followed in * When the numbers of those who have nothing, get to be so great as to make their voices of importance, it is time to think of some serious change. CAUSES OF AMKUICAX IXONOMV. 357 be so link of our country, we should have been a poorer and, consequently, a less important and less happy people than at present. The relations between political liberality, and what is called political prodigality, are wonderfully intimate. ** We find that our government is cheaper, and even stronger, for being popular. There is no doubt that the jealousy of those who have little, often induces a false economy, and that money might frequently be saved by bidding higher for talent. We lay no claims to perfection, but we do say, that more good is attained in this manner than in any other which is practised elsewhere. We look at the aggregate of ?d vantage, and neither our calculations nor our hopes have, as yet, been greatly deceived. " As to the forms of our elections, you see that they are beyond example simple and orderly. After an experience of near forty years, I can say that I have never seen a blow struck, nor any other violent proceeding, at a poll. These things certainly do happen, but, in comparison with the opportunities, at remarkably long intervals. So far from the frequency of elections tending to disturb society, they produce an exactly dif- ferent effect. A contest which is so soon to be repeated loses half its interest by familiarity. Vast numbers of electors are content to be lookers- on, rarely approaching a poll, except to vote on some question of peculiar concern. The struggle r I •i , J I ''^11! ■m ,.,1i 358 GENERAL OHDER OF THE ELECTIONS. 1 I' .iir 4? M = ; , is generally whether A or B shall enjoy the temporary honour or the trifling emolument in dispute, the community seldom being much the better or the worse for the choice. People talk of the fluctuations which are necessarily the conse- quences of a popular government. They do not understand what they say. Every other en- lightened nation of the earth is at this moment divided between great opposing principles, whereas here, if we except the trifling col- lisions of pecuniary interests, every body is of the same mind, except as to the ordinarily imma- terial question of a choice between men. We have settled all the formidable points of policy, by conceding every thir *hat any reasonable man can ask. The only ger which exists to the duration oi our confederacy (and that is not a question of a form of government, but one of mere policy), proceeds from the little that is aristocratical in our Union. The concentrated power of a state may become, hke the over- grown power of an individual, dangerous to our harmony, though we think, and with very good reason, that, on the whole, even this pecu- liarity adds to the durability of the Union. . It is unnecessary to say, that so far as mere convenience goes, this method of election can be practised by a nundred millions ot people, as easily as by twelve. As to corruption, compara- tively speaking, it cannot exist. No man can LXTKNDKl) CORUUPTFON I MPOSSI BLL. 359 buy a state, a county, or even a town. In a hotly contested election it is certainly sometimes practicable to influence votes enough to turn the scale; but, unless the question involve the pe- culiar interests of the less fortunate class of society, it is clear both parties can bribe alike, and then the evil corrects itself. If the question be one likely to unite the interests and the pre- judices of the humbler classe?, nine times in ten it is both more humane and wiser that they should prevail. That sort of splendid and treacherous policy which gives a fallacious lustre to a nation by oppressing those who have the most need of support, is manifestly as unwise as it is unjust. It violates the very principles of the compact, since governments are not formed to achieve, but to protect. After a sufficient force has been obtained to effect the first great objects of the association, the governed, and not the governors, are the true agents in every act of national prosperity. Look at America. What people, or what monarch, if you will, has done half so much as we have done, (compared to our means,) in the last half century, and precisely for the reason that the government is obliged to con- tent itself with, protection, or, at the most, with that assistance which, in the nature of things, strictly requires a concentrated action. " It is of far less importance, according to our notions, what the executive of a nation TM w. ;u>() I H r: A M i: u i c a n s a u k k f. h o u m k it s . is called, than that all classes should have a direct influence on its policy. We have no king, it is true, for the word carries with it, to our ears, an idea of expenditure ; but we have a head, who, for the time being, has a very reasonable portion of power. We are not jealous of him, for we have taken good care he shall do no harm. " Though we are glad to find that principles which we have practised, and under which we have prospered so long, are coming more in fashion in Europe, 1 think you must do us the justice to say, that we are not a nation much addicted to the desire of proselyting. For our- selves we have no fears, and as for other people, if they make some faint imitations of our system, and then felicitate themselves on their progress, we are well content they should have all the merit of inventors. That is a miserable rivalry which would make a monopoly of happiness. I think, as a people, we rather admire you most when we see you advancing with moderation to your ob- ject, than when we hear of the adoption of sudden and violent means. We have ever been reformers rather than revolutionists. Our cwii struggle for independence was not in its aspect a revolution. We contrived to give it all the dignity of a war from the first blow. Although our generals and soldiers might not have been so well trained as those they fought against, they were far more humane, considerate, and, in the end, success- TIIK AMKUUANS 1 N VITK III A V(i t,. 30 I i fill thaii their adversaries. Our own progress has been gradual. It is not long since a trifling restriction existed on the suffrage of this very state. Experience proved that it excluded quite as many discreet men as its removal would admit of vagabonds. Now it is the distinguishing fea- ture of our policy that we consider man a reason- able being, and that we rather court, than avoid, the struggle between ignorance and intelligence. We find that this policy rarely fails to assure the victory of the latter, while it keeps down its baneful monopolies. We extended the suffrage to include every body, and while complaint is re- moved, we find no lifference in the representation. As yet, it is rather an improvement. Should it become an evil, however, we shall find easy and moderate means to change it, since we are certain that a majority will be sufficiently sagacious to know their own interests. You have only to con- vince us that it is the best government, and we will become an absolute monarchy to-morrow. It is wonderful how prone we are to adopt that which expectation induces us to think will be expedient, and to reject that which experience teaches us is bad. It must be confessed that, so far, all our experiments have been in favour of democracy. I very well know that you in Europe prophesy that our career will end in monarchy. To be candid, your prophecies excite but little feeling here, since we have taken uj) the opinion you If r m llllr Mm 362 PEHFECT KREKDOM OF DISCUSSION. ! don't very well understand the subject. But should it prove true, h la bonne hcure ; when we find that form o^ government best, depend on it, we shall not hesitate to adopt it. You are at perfect liberty, if you will, to establish a journal in favour of despotism under the windows of the capitol. I will not promise you much patronage , at first, neither do I think you will be troubled with much serious opposition. At all events there is nothing in the law to molest the speculation. Now look behind you at the ** poll" we have just left ; reflect on this fact, and then draw your con- clusion, of our own opinion, of the stability of our institutions. We may deceive ourselves, but you of Europe must exhibit a far more accurate know- ledge of the state of our country, before we shall rely on your crude prognostics rather than on our own experience." I could scarcely assure myself that Cad wallader was not laughing at me during a good deal of the time he was speaking, but after all, it must be con- fessed there is some common sense in what he said. There were three or four other passengers in the stage, men of decent and sober exterior, among whom I detected certain interchanges of queer glances, though none of them appeare 1 to think the subject of any very engrossing interest. Pro- voked at their unreasonable indifference to a theme so delightful as liberty, I asked one of them " If he did not apprehend there woull be an end ''l I OBSTINACY OF TIIK AMKUICANS. 363 to the republic, should General Jackson become the next President ?" " 1 rather think not," was his deliberate, and somewhat laconic answer. " Why not ? he is a soldier, and a man of ambi- tion." My unmoved yeoman did not care to dis- pute either of these qualities, but !ie still per- sevt/f^d in thinking there was not much danger, since ** he did not know any one in his neighbour- hood who was much disposed to help a man in such an undertaking." It is provoking to find a whole nation dwelling in this species of alarming security, for no other reason than that their vulgar and every-day prac- tices teach them to rely on themselves, instead of trusting to the rational inferences of philanthropic theorists, who have so long been racking their in- genuity to demonstrate that a condition of society which has delusively endured for nearly two hundred years, has been in existence all that time in direct opposition to the legitimate deductions of the science of government. . 4 m «. ."' ' k: ■i' % 1 i ( 364 J TO SIR EDWARD WALLER, BART. Philadelphia, Since my last letter, I have visited New Jersey, the eastern parts of Pennsylvania, and Delaware. V/ith the exception of Maine, Illinois, and Indiana, (quite new states,) I have now seen something of all those communities, which, in common parlance, are called the '* free states," in contradistinction to those which still encourage the existence of domestic slavery. As respects this material point of policy, the confederation is nearly equally divided in the number of states, thirteen having virtually gotten rid of slavery, and eleven still ad- hering to the system. The difference between the white population, however, is vastly more in favour of the " free states." We shall not be far out of the way in stating the whole of the white popula- tion of the United States at a little more than t'^n millions. Of this number near, if not quite, seven millions are contained in the thirteen northern, middle, and north western states. This portion of the Union is governed by the same policy, and its inhabitants seek their pros- perity in the same sources of wealth and in the same spirit of improvement. More than half of I i * ■• POPULATION OF THE NORTK KU\ STATF.S. 3G5 them are either natives of New England, or are descended from those who were born in that dis- trict of the country. Together, the states I have named cover a surface of little less than 300,000 square miles. If the territory of Michigan be included, (which is not yet suflficiently populous to be a state,) the amount will be swelled to near 330,000. The former will give rather more than twenty-three to the square mile, as the rate of the whole population on the whole surface. But in making the estimate, what I have already said of the vast regions that are not peopled at all, must be kept in view. Perhaps one-third of the territory should be excluded from the calculation alto- gether. This would leave something more than thirty to the square mile, for the average. But even this estimate is necessarily delusive, as it is known that in the old states there are sixty and seventy souls to the square mile, and in some parts of them many more. In the course of reflection on this subject, I have been led to inquire when these republics are to reach that ratio of population which, of neces- sity, is to compel them to adapt their institutions to the usages of European policy. The result is not quite so conclusive as one might at first be dis- posed to believe. I find that despotism flourishes with little or no opposition in Russia, a country of about twenty-five to the square mile ; in Turkey, ■ Ut M 366 POPULATIOX FAVOURABLE TO LIBERTY. one of about fifty ;* in Spain, one of, say sixty ; in Denmark, one of about eighty, &c., &c. ; and that liberty is beginning to thrive, or hCiS long thriven, in England, one of more than two hundred ; in the Netherlands, one of an equal rate ; and, in short, in France, in several of the most populous states of Germany, some of which mount as high as six and nine hundred to the square mile, more particularly the free towns ! Here is pretty clear evidence, by that unan- swerable argument — fact, that the populousness of a country is not necessarily to control the free- dom or despotism of its institutions. But the United States have carried the freedom of their institutions too far, since they go much farther than we have ever found it wise or safe to go in Europe. England herself has stopped short of such excessive freedom. The latter position is certainly much nearer to the truth than the other, and yet if we should assemble even the travelled brethren of our own club, and put the question to them — " How far do you think that liberty and equality of politi- cal rights can be carried in a government without danger to its foundations ?" — it would be seen that the replies would smack a little of the early impressions of the different worthies who com- pose the fraternity. Let us fancy ourselves for a moment in solemn conclave on this knotty • — < * Both in Europe. AN ARCiUMKNT IN THE CLUB. 3G7 I hi '1:1 'J point, and we will endeavour to anticipate the different answers. We will begin with the Prince Andr6 KutmynoseandeyesofF. ** I am of opinion," says our accomplished, intelligent, and loyal prince, " that without a vast standing army, a nation can neither secure its frontiers, nor on occasion bring them properly within a ring fence. In what manner is a serf to be made to respect his lord, unless he see that the latter can enforce his rights by having recourse to the bayonet, or in what manner is even rank among ourselves to be regulated, without a com- mon centre whence it must flow? It would be utterly impossible to keep an empire composed of subjects born in the arctic circle and subjects born on the Caspian, men speaking different languages, and worshipping Jesus and Mahomet, together, without such a concentration of power as shall place each in salutary fear of the ruler. It is quite clear that a nation without a vast standing army " " I beg pardon for the interruption, mon Prince," cries Professor Jansen : ** I agree with you in toto, except as to the army. Certainly no spectacle is more beautiful than that of a kind and benevolent monarch, dwelling in the midst of his people like a father in the bosom of a vast family, and at once the source of order and the fountain of honour. Still I can see no great use in an overgrown army, which infallibly leads to '5 . :■ '' ■ .t'S ■liifi m ^'M 368 DIFFERENCE IN OPINIONS. '; m s \v a waste of money and a mis-spending of time. Soldiers are unquestionably necessary to prevent in- vasion or aggression, and to be in readiness to look down any sudden attempts at revolution ; but they are dangerous and extravagant play-things. When a sovereign begins to stir his battalions as he does his chess-men, one can never calculate what move he means to make next; and as to rank, what can be more venerable or more noble than the class of Counts, for instance — [" Hear, hear," from Sir Edward Waller] — a set of nobles who hold so happy and so respected an in- termediate station between the prince and his people. That is clearly the happiest government in the whole world, where the labour of ruling is devolved on one man : but I shall always protest against the wisdom of a large standing army." " Quant ct moiy' observes the colonel, making an apologetic bow, " I cannot agree with either the one or the other. An army before all things, but no despot ; and, least of all, a despot who does nothing but stay at home and vegetate on his throne. If I m:ist have an absolute monarch. King Stork any day to King Log. In my youth, I will confess, certain visions of glory floated before my eyes, and conquest appeared the best good of life ; but time and hard service have weakened these impressions, and I can now plainly perceive all the advantages of La Charte. In a constitutional monarchy one can enjoy the -t , SHADES IN UEASONIN'G. 309 advantages of a despotism without any of its dis- advantages. You have an army to vindicate the national honour, as ready, as brave, and as effi cient, as though the power of its head were un- limited ; and yet you have not the constant danger of lettres as cachet, bastilles, and monks. By a judicious division of estates, those odious mono- polies, which have so fatal a tendency to aris- tocracy " " If you stop there, dear Jules," interrupts a certain Sir Edward Waller, ** we shall be in the majority, and the question is our own. Nothing can be more dangerous than a despotism, every one must allow" (though two worthy members had just held the contrary doctrine). " But you are touching on the very thing now, that must unavoidably prove fatal to your monarchy, la chartCy'diadL all, since it is clear, that a monarch needs the support of an aristocracy, and an aris- tocracy is nothing without money. — An en- lightened, unpaid, disinterested gentry, who possess all the property. — " * Money !' echoes the colonel, in heat ; " it is that money which is the curse of you English. You have it all, and yet you see you are hourly in terror of bankruptcy. Thank God, if the revo- lution has done nothing else, it has cut up root and branch all our odious seignories, with their feudal follies, and man now begins to think him- self the owner of the soil^ and not a plant." VOL. I. B B .i ,1 t;;,li S:| mP '■•iSJ 370 LNANfMITV " Nay, my dear B^thizy, keep your temper ; you are not now storming the bridge of Lodi. Reflect one moment ; what will become of France when her whole territory shall be subdivided in freeholds not bigger than a pocket-handkerchief?" ** And your island ! what will the poor devils of paupers do when Lord shall own the whole island ?" " I think," observes the abbate, perceiving that the argument is likely to wax hot, ** that it is a question that will admit of much to be said on both sides, whether a people will leave more last- ing and brilliant recollections, if their career has been run under a republican or a monarchical form of government. In Italy we find arguments to maintain both positions ; though at present we are somewhat divided between a hierarchy and such minute geographical divisions as shall ensure a close inspection into the interests of all who have any right at all to be consulted in these matters. I can neither agree with the prince, nor with the professor, nor with the count, nor yet with Sir Edward, though I think all of us must be of opinion that a popular government is a thing quite impracticable." " Oh ! all, all, all, all." ** It is quite certain that your Lazzaroni would scarcely know what to do with political power if they had it," continues the abbate. " Nor a serf," says the prince. A UKPJ.V. ;j7i ** I can see no use in giving it even to a count," mutters the Dane. " Nor to a Manchester reformer," puts in Sir Edward. "It is quite certain the canaille do not know how to use it," adds Jules B^thizy, with a melan- choly sigh ; and so the question is disposed of. Now, if my friend Cadwallader were a mem- ber of the club (and I hope to live long enough to see the day when he shall become one), he might give a very different opinion from them all. Let us imagine, for an instant, what would be the nature of his argument. He would probably say, that, ** my countrymen have taken care there shall be neither Lazzaroni, nor serf, (he might gag a little at the tho ^ght of the blacks,) * nor counts, nor Manchester reformers, and any opinions which may be formed on premises of this nature are, in consequence, utterly inappli- cable to us. I dare say the abbate will very wil- lingly admit, that if there were nothing but cardi- nals in Italy, a popular government would do very well ; and perhaps Sir Edward will allow if the English population were all baronets of seven- thousand a year, the elective franchise might be extended even in his kingdom without any very * It is manifestly unsafe to found any arguments concerning the political institutions of this country on the existence of slavery, since the slaves have no more to do with government than inani- mate objects. • B B 2 ■•li' ' ni 372 A RKPLV. imminent danger. It is wonderful how very diffi- cult it is to make men comprehend that a thing can be done by any one else which they have long been used to consider as exceeding their own ability to perform. This feeling of selfishness, or of vanity, whichever you please, insinuates itself into all our actions, and finally warps our opi- nions, and obscures our judgments. " 1 do not believe it is in the power of man to make a Turk comprehend the nature of English liberty; simply because, when he looks around him, and sees the state of society in which he himself vegetates, he can neither understand the energy of character which re- quires such latitude for its exertion, nor the state of things which can possibly render it sefe. It appears to me, that it is very nearly as difficult to make an Englishman comprehend that it is very possible for a people to prosper under a degree of liberty still greater than that he enjoys. His self- love, his prejudices, and his habits are all opposed to the admission. Experience and fact go for nothing. He is determined there shall be some drawback to all the seeming prosperity of a state of things which exceeds his own notions of the sources whence prosperity ought to flow; and though he may not be sufficiently conversant with the details to lay his finger on the sore spot, he is quite confident there must be one. He swears it is festering, and that by-and-bye we ^1 THE OPINION OF A STATESiMAN. 373 shall hear something of it worth knowing. I remember once to have conversed with a renowned English statesman on this very subject. He was sufficiently complimentary on the institutions of my country, and on the character of my country- men, but we were neither of us the dupes of such simple courtesy. I believe he did me the justice to see that I understood him, for he very soon took occasion to rcij^'irk that he should like the govern- ment of the United States better if it were a * Frank Republic.' Perceiving that I looked sur- prised, and possibly understanding the expression of my countenance to say how much I wondered that a man of his experience should expect great frankness in any government, he went on to ex- plain ; * I mean,' he continued, * that I should like your government better, if there were no pageant of a head, and if Congress would act for itself directly, without the intervention of a President.' • < < " This conversation occurred shortly after the senate of the United States had rejected a treaty with Great Britain, which the President had made (through the public minister), and which the King of Great Britain had previously ratified. * Hific ill(B lachrymce,' I confined my answer to a sim- ple observation, that the actual power of the Pre- sident was very little, but that we should unneces- sarily impede the execution of the laws, and embarrass our intercourse with foreign nations, by it! Il f^tfijli ! * t. "«^'^ 374 UlASONS Foil HIS OI'IMON. abolishing the office, which added greatly to the convenience of the country, without in the slightest degree invading or endangering the liberties of the people. " Now, what was the amo i. of the argument which this gifted man agitated in his own mind, on a subject so important to the policy of a great nation. He could understand that a right might exist somewhere to annul the bargain of a minister, for in his proper person he had just before refused to ratify a treaty made by one of his own agents,* but he could not understand that this power should, or could, with propriety, be lodged in hands where he was not accustomed to see it. Napoleon would have told him that he himself submitted to a thousand vain and restrictive regula- tions which only tended to embarrass his opera- tions and to lessen his influence abroad. " Again, it is quite common for the American to gather in discourse with Englishmen, either by inuendos, or direct assertions, that there is little or no religion in his country ! Nine times in ten the former is content to laugh in his sleeve at what he terms the egregious ignorance of his relative, or perhaps he makes a circle of friends merry by enumerating this instance, among fifty others, of the jaundiced views that the folks on the home- stead take of the condition of those who have wandered beyond the paternal estate. But should * With Mexico. A KALSK IDEA 375 he be tempted to probe the feeling (1 will not call it reason) which induces so many warm-hearted, and kindly intentioned individuals in the mother country, to entertain a notion so unjust, not to say so uncharitable, of their fellow Christians, under another r/'gime, he will find that it is in truth bottomed on no other foundation than the circum- stance that we have no established church. And yet it is a known fact that the peculiar faith of England is, in America, on the comparative in- crease, and that in England itself, it is on a com- parative decrease, one half of the whole population being, at this moment, if I am rightly informed, dissenters from the very church they think so necessary to religion, morals and order. In Ame- rica, we think the change in the 'atter country is owing to the establishment itself, and the change in our own, to the fact that men are always willing to acknowledge the merits of any thing which is not too violently obtruded on their notice. We may be wrong, and so may they ; but if the fact were only half as well authenticated as is the one that we are competent to maintain our present political institutions, I should consider it a question not worth the trouble of discussion." That Cadwallader would use some such man- ner of reply I know, for the anecdote of his con- versation with the English statesman (now un- happily no more) I have actually heard him men- tion. I confess the justice r«f many of his remarks, '. > , Pi i 376 1'HK.a'DICK. i for 1 am perfectly conscious of having been the subject of a great many of these vague and general conjectures on American policy ; but a closer ob- servation of the actual state of the country is gra- dually forcing me to different conclusions. The morecandid Europeanwill admit thata vast number of our usages and institutions owe their existence, at the present hour, to prejudice. Now, is it not possible that prejudice may have quite as active an agency in keeping down a^'istocracy, as in keeping it up ? It is perfectly absurd to say that it is an ordering of nature ; for nature, so far from decreeing that the inequality of her gifts is to be perpetuated in a direct male line, and in conformity to the rights of primogeniture, is commonly content with visiting a single family with her smiles, at long intervals, and with a very unequal bounty. So far as nature is concerned, then, she is diame- trically opposed to the perpetuation of power or consideration in the regular descent. Neither talents, nor physical force, nor courage, nor beauty, are often continued long in any one race. But men do get, and do keep too, the control of things in their own families, in most of the countries of the earth. This is a practical argument, which it will be found difficult to controvert. It is precisely for this reason that I begin to think the people of the United States will not soon part with the power of which they are at present in such absolute pos- session. But knowledge you will say is power, and PHF.junrcK. 377 knowledge is confined to the few. I am inclined to think, after all, that the degree of knowledge which is necessary to make a man obstinate in the defence of rights which he has been educated to believe inherent, is far from being very profound. It is well known that despots have often failed in att' mpts on the personal privileges of their subjects. Paul could send a prince to Siberia, but he could not make a Boyer shave. Now, the rights of suf- frage, of perfect political equality, of freedom in religion, and ofall other political privileges, are the beards of these people. It will be excessively hazardous to attempt to shorten them by a hair. The ornaments of the chin are not more effectually a gift of nature, than are the political privileges of the American his birth- right. Groat as is the power of the English aristocracy, there are limits to its exercise, as yoa very well know, and any man can predict a revolution should they attempt to exceed them. I fancy the only difference between the mother and child in this particular is, that the latter, so far as political rights go, has rather a richer inheritance than the former. Time has clearly little to do with the matter beyond the date of our individual existence, since a human life is quite long enough to get thoroughly obstinate opinions on any subject, even though prejudice should be their basis. From this familiar and obvious manner of reasoning (and I think it will be found to contain f rf ■li i>i^l'; his honours, for he not only managed his team with great dexterity, but he showed the qualities of judgment and temper in that degree which I think distinguishes most of the native coachmen of this country. They are commonly a reasoning and discreet race, compared to so many of their prototypes in Europe, and consequently they are humane. A little discourse soon brought us ac- quainted, and to my amazement I found the coachman was also a sailor, and that a year or two before, he had actually been the coxswain of a commodore ! He had driven a public coach in England, a private coach in South America, and now he was driving No. 1 . of the steam-boat line at home ! ** Where were you born ?" I asked. " Over there, in that house you see against the side of the hill," he answered, point- ing with his whip. " I took to the seas about the same time I took to horses, and so I have been driving and getting a wet jacket, turn about, two or three seasons at a time, these five-and- twenty years. But my pipe is out now for the seas, since I broke my arm, in which there is scarce strength enough left to hold a bucket of water to the heads of my horses." Here was a striking case of the diversity of employment which is so common in America. The very pur- suits which, in Europe, are perhaps the most op- posed to each other, were here successfully exer- cised by the same man. When I mentioned the iii^ •i^ '• s'i -■,^^i . ill i 'li ■ B '■M "II ill 396 ADMIXTURE OF EMPLOYMENTS. fact to Cadwallader, he told me that such profes- sional incongruities were far from rare, and that one of the best drivers of a public coach he had ever known, was a man who had diversified his life by sometimes going to sea. Indeed, I am persuaded there is no one thing which will more astonish an observant and good-humoured traveller through this country, than the extraordi- nary aptitude that the common Americans dis- play in the exercise of callings which are thought to be as much opposed to each other in qualifica- tion as that of a coachman and that of a coxswain of a man-of-war. We found the roads very tolerably good, the horses excellent, the coaches, though not exceed- ingly easy, well enough. When we entered Trenton, the coach was stopped by Cadwallader, and we descended at an inn, which, as it after- wards appeared, had no connection with the stages. Our example was followed by one or two more, the rest of the travellers proceeding to the regular stage house. I mention this little circumstance, as it may serve to give an idea of a description of inns in this country, of which even observant travellers in it do not often get any notion, but which, nevertheless, abound in all the northern and eastern states. Under favour of my friend's experience, I have entered fifty such, some not quite as good, and some even better than the one I am about to describe : — A GOOD AMERICAN INN. 397 H 1' At Bispham's, Trenton, we were received by the landlord with perfect civility, but without the slightest shade of obsequiousness. The deport- ment of the innkeeper was manly, courteous, and even kind ; but there was that in his air which sufficiently proved that both parties were ex- pected to manifest the same qualities. We were asked if we all formed one party, or whether the gentlemer who alighted from number one, wished to be by themselves. The reply was, that we wished to be alone. We were shewn into a neat well-furnished little parlour, where our supper made its appearance in the course of twenty minutes. The table contained many little delica- cies, such as game, oysters, and choice fish, and several things were named to us as at hand, if needed. Cadwallader had tea, while I took coffee. The former was excellent, the latter, as usual, indifferent enough. The papers of New York and Philadelphia were brought in at our request, and we sat, with our two candles, before a cheerful fire reading them as long as we pleased. Our bed- chambers were spacious, well furnished, and as ' neat as possible, and the beds as good as one usually finds them out of France. In the morn- ing we left the house before breakfast, in order to rejoin our steam-boat line, which took the river a short mile from the place where we slept. Now, for these accommodations, which were just as good, with one solitary exception, (water-closets,) im IM :^98 ITS COMFORT AND CHEAPNESS. as you would meet in the better order of English provincial inns, and much better in the quality and abundance of the food, we paid the sum of 4s, 6d. sterling each. I confess I did not think it was enough, and proposed to my companion to make an addition. *' Put up your purse," he said, smiling ; * all we ask is, that when you get back, you will merely tell what you have seen. This man has his price, and will take neither more nor less." You must also remember, that in America when you pay the regular price for any- thing, you commonly have paid all. I have never known a servant ask for a douceur ; and though people of a certain class generally give a trifle to the man who cleans boots, or to him who does any little extra services, neither waiter, chamber- maid, nor any one else demands it. It is just the same in the steam-boats, stages, hackney coaches, &c., when you get the regular price, you know all the necessary expense, and I use the word necessary, in reference to custom no less than right.* I have been in a vast number of these inns. So far from putting people three in a bed, they apologise for the necessity of putting friends in the same room when it is necessary ; and on the * A trifle is commonly expected for transferring the baggage from the steam-boats to the coaches, and vice versa. Sometimes an European, or an experienced American servant in the large towns, will look as if he expected a present. GOOD INNS NOT UNFREQUENT. 399 slightest hesitation at such an arrangement being manifested, they do all they can to obviate the necessity. I do not suppose that it is possible to arrive at any very exact estimate of the taverns in this country. They are certainly more numerous than I remember to have ever seen them before, especially on all the great routes. A vast number are very bad, and it might be difficult for even a native to travel in his own carriage any great distance w^ithout occasionally encountering : >me of the sort ; but, always confining my remarks to the older and more northern states, and making the exceptions which are peculiar to the two countries, I am of opinion that there are quite as many good taverns in America as in England, while there are infinitely more bad ones. The former, certainly, do not occur at every five miles ; but in order to institute a fair comparison, it is necessary to remember the vast difference in the sizes of the two countries. In this simple fact exists the secret of the apparent difference in the quality of the taverns. But an American inn, and, indeed, the inn of every other country except England, is almost always deficient in the one great nameless convenience already mentioned in this letter. The servants here are not so good as in Europe generally, and much inferior to those in England. I make my comparisons with your inns, because they are, as a class, more uniformly "■JLjII 400 SECOND ONLY TO ENGLISH INNS. good than those of any other country, and be- cause the best of yours are unquestionably among the best of the world. I know no other country indeed in which the inns will compare, on the whole, with those of the older parts of America. The inns of France, in the large towns, cleanli- ness excepted, are about equal to the inns in the large towns here ; but the best inns of the villages are vastly inferior.* The passage down the Delaware, though pic- turesque, and far from unpleasing, will bear no comparison with that on the Hudson. Still, one may get an idea of the great beauty of all these splendid views by recailing the fact that numberless European travellers who have made the excursion to Philadelphia before going north, extol the former river to the skies. A few miles below Trenton, Joseph Bonaparte has sought a retreat from the cares and mortifi- cations of the old world. He lives in a sort of retirement which embraces a large circle of friends and dependants. The family of Bonaparte is already getting to be numerous in America, and it is probable that in a few years the name will be found in the rolls of congress : a century hence it may possibly be seen on the signs of the * If we take cooking into the account, there are inns now, in the northern and western parts of France, that are quite equal to the best English provincial inns. Those who are very luxurious in their beds may even think thera better. HABITS OF THE EX-KING, 401 Cities. Besides the ex-king, (who !ias assumed the title of Compte de Survilliers, the name of a little village which lies adjacent to the splendid chateau of Morfontaine,) there are a son of Lucien, (married to the oldest daughter of Jo- seph,) a son of Jerome by his first, or the Ameri- can wife, and two sons of the hapless Murat. Charles, the son of Lucien, has children born in the country, and who consequently are possessed of the rights of natives. This young man is already favourably known for his devotion to, and for his attainments in science. He is said to be simple in his habits, and to have found favour among the republicans of these regions. The Compte de Survilliers, I believe, d«^yes not mingle much with the society of the courtry. He does not speak the language ; and, as French is not so generally understood here as ill Europe, that circumstance alone would oppose obstacles to his wishes, did he even feel a desire to live more in the world. He is said to be unassuming when he does appear in public; and, in conse- quence, is rather in favour than otherwise.* * A few years si»?ce, the house of the Compte dn Survilliers was burnt by accident. iS few days after the conflagration, a card appeared in a journal of the vicinity, in which the sufferer, after returning thanks to the inhabitants of the neighbouring village of Bor- dentown, for their promptitude in coming to his assistance, alluded to the circumstance, that none of his effects had been purloined in the midst of the confusion in terms of commendation. The writer under- VOL. I. D D lit !* tf 1 UJ*!i' n M4 0m^ '.rW'm 402 XAPOM'.OX IN AMFlUrA. Many absurd conjectures were hazarded at the time on the probable consequences, had Napoleon succeeded in his project of reaching the United States. These conjectures, like a thousand others connected with the events of the hour, are already forgotten among the evanescent interests of the past ; but it was recalled to my mind as I gazed at the secluded and irregular chilteau of his brother. " What would Napoleon have done with your institutions, had he reached your shores ?" was the question I put to Cadwallader. *' He would have found some agreeable site, like this of Joseph, and told his tales of Italy and of France to travellers in the west, instead of tell- ing them to travellers in the east. As no one man had any exceeding influence in creating our institu- tions, rely on it they will not speedily fall before the talents, or even virtues, of any single individual. That which we owe to ourselves as the work of our own hands, our own hands will preserve ; and while kings can find on earth no mqre peaceful asylum than that we offer them, imagination can- not conceive a less profitable theaUe for the enactment of a royal drama. We are ready to extend hospitality to both parties — subjects who stood that the thanks were well enough received, for they were usual, but that a momentary offence was given to the mhabitants, by any man presuming to thank them for common honesty! The people of the vicinity have, however, already forgotten their j~ique, for they speak of their neighbour with great kindness. IMIII ADKI.IMIIA. 403 are tired of their kings, and kings who are tired of their subjects : but the great political nVie of this country must be played in our own simple fashion, and with scenery and decorations that shall suit the national taste." I found Philadelphia remarkable for its regu- larity of construction, its neatness and its quietude. It has much more the air of a better sort of English town, or, in fact, of a quarter of London, than even New York, though there are points of marked difference, as well as of resemblance, be- tween the City of Brotherly-love and the capital of the mother country. The bricks are not painted; and the eye immediately misses the gay, cheerful look which distinguishes New York. Herein it resembles a well built and clean town of England ; but its exceeding neatness is almost peculiar to this country, aided as it is by objects of ornament that are not found in the streets of any English city. A vast number of the door- steps are of white marble ; many of the caps and sills of the windows, and even parts of the side- walks, are chiselled in the same material. In- deed, the profusion of this stone in the best streets serves to enliveii the appearance of the place, though I acknowledge that 1 have some doubts of the taste which creates so violent a contrast as that between white and red. In architecture, Philadelphia, beyond all doubt, excels its great commercial neighbour. The pri- I) D 2 mr m 404 punijc nrii.i)iN(j.s. vate buildings do not materially vary from those I have described, thougl I think it may be said there is less taste for luxury, generally, in this place than in New York. If any thing, the furniture is more simple, though always neat, and often ex- ceedingly rich. A gentleman of Philadelphia is about as well lodged as that portion of the English nobility and gentry who are not the proprietors of capital town-houses. This brings him on a level with most of the Frenchmen below those who singly occupy large hotels. Of public edifices there is a larger and better display than in New York, churches alone ex- cepted. A good and an improving taste is cer- tainly prevalent in this city on the subject of architecture. I believe it is generally admitted, that the finest modern edifice we know is the Bourse of Paris. You will be surprised, perhaps, when I say, that, next to this exquisite work of art, I rank the Bank of the United States in this city. There are certainly a hundred buildings in Europe of a very similar style, and of far more laboured ornaments ; but I cannot remember one, in which simplicity, exquisite proportion, and ma- terial, unite to produce so fine a whole. It is doric, without side colonnades, not particularly large, though of sufficient size for effect, and of white marble. The church of the Madeleine at Paris, for instance, when completed, should be an edifice of a vast deal more of pretension ; but, notwith- IJANK OK Tin; UNITKl) STATtS. 405 standing its admirable position, its great size, and its immense colonnades. I do not believe it will ever produce so pleasing an effect as this chaste and severe little temple of Plutus. It is certain that the Madeleine stands in a position to try its powers of pleasing to the utmost ; for, flanked by the Garde Meuble, and fronting the fa9ade of the Chambre des D^put^s, no imperfection is permit- ted to escape, without quick comparative criti- cism. I am not sure that the Bank of the United States does not owe some of its charms to the fact that it has no rival near ; but even that cir- cumstance is a merit in the architect, since he could have had no other eye than that of the mind to regulate his proportions. Philadelphia has other clever edifices. There is another banking-house in classic taste, and several more buildings erected for ihe monied institutions (a tribute to gold, perhaps, to be expected here) are in a very good style. An immense building is in the course of construction for a Penitentiary, and wears a promising air. The Fair Mount water-works are well worthy the examination of every stranger. But you, who know, by melancholy experience how little there is actually worth viewing in the oldest countries of the earth, after the first interest of curiosity har^ been appeased, should not be surprised to learn, that an American city can ccntain very little to reward the eye, unless that ? m im It If ^i:i ■y:i- V 406 A MANUFACTUlllXG CITY. which is seen should be taken in connexion with the moral agents that have assisted to bring it into existence. In the latter respect, one has cause of astonishment at each step taken in this rapidly advancing country, and in no place more than in Philadelphia. New York is a great commercial town ; but this city is more devoted to manufacturing. It is much cheaper than the former place, and in many particulars admirably adapted to maintain its present pursuits. There is no want of capital ; and it is highly probable that the day is not distant when it shall become a modified, or im- proved, Manchester or Birmingham. Its present population is about 140,000.* I will not say we found in Philadelphia a better bred, or a more enlightened society, than we found in N ew York, for this would not be strictly true ; but we found it less interrupted by the intrusions of that portion of the world which is purely com- mercial. The constant and vast accessions to the population of the latter city keep society in a constant state of fermentation, as I have already mentioned ; and it is not alv/ays easy to tell into which of its currents or bubblings one has fallen. * The writer has more than once said, that Philadelphia city con- tains, at the present day, about 150,000, and New York near 200,000, exclusive of the village of Brooklyn, a suburb on the Long Island side of the strait or arm of the sea, which must have of itself quite 12,(/00. ROUTE BY THE INTERIOR. 407 !;::i It is more easy to keep pace with the movements of this tranquil town. With the exception of those who are literally men of the world, and they are not numerous, I should say also, that the inherit- ance of Penn is in a slight degree more provincial in its habits and manners than the sister city. Instead of following the river in our route to Baltimore, we went by a road of the interior. The first day's journey was through one of the most highly cultivated and richest agricultural dis- tricts of this, or of any other, quarter of the world. The appearance of the country, with the excep- tions already named, was essentially English, though I have seen no part of England where such farm-houses and barns are to be seen as we met with here. The villages are few, and but small, though there are two or three market- towns of some size on the route. The natural scenery was rather like that of Normandy than that of England, though the artificial parts were much in the English taste, always excepting hedges. The Susquehannah was crossed by a noble wooden bridge, which was said to be a mile long. This was the twentieth of these immense con- structions in wood, that I have seen since my landing ; nor are they the snrdllest subjects of my surprise. The great enterprise and exceeding ingenuitj^ of the people are here displayed to great advantage. It is only necessary to discover 408 IMMENSE BRIDGES. the want of a bridge, or a canal, to ensure an effort, and commonly a successful one, to bring it into existence. A bridge a quarter, a half, or even a whole mile, in length, as is the case with that of Columbia (across the Susquehannah), is no extra- ordinary undertaking for the inhabitants of a country which, forty years before, and often less, was an entire wilderness. I scarcely know how to give you a correct idea of one of these avenues of timber. As they are commonly thrown across some vast river, or perhaps a lake, on whose banks the native forest is to be found, the mate- rial is cheap, and easy to be transported. The cost, therefore, is in no proportion to the magni- tude of the work. They are built on different plans ; some being as rude and simple as possible, and others forming beautiful models of scientific skill, and even of taste. T should think a majority of them are suspended by chains. Some are, how- ever, suspended by wood, from arches of timber, that rest either on piers of stone, or on well-secured foundations of framework. The better sort are covered, having roofs and even windows ; so that it often happens that the traveller, perhaps whilst ruminating on the recent origin of this country, finds himself journeying through an edifice which is from a quarter of a mile to a mile in length. The state of Pennsylvania possesses a popula- tion, less identified with the great national cha- ill CHARACTER OF THE POPULATION. 409 racter, than any other member of this confedera- tion. It is computed that about one-third of all its inhabitants are the descendants of German emi- grants. They are remarkably tenacious of their own customs and opinions, and even of their lan- guage, though the whole are gradually giving way before the superior influence of the English cha- racter. I conversed with several of the yeomen of this description of inhabitants. They spoke English with an accent as if it were a language acquired after infancy, and it was easy to trace a difference in the activity of their thoughts, as compared with those of most of their countrymen. I found them, however, possessed of the same notions of political liberty, which have been so long established in this country, as to have become essential ingredients in the characters of all its inhabitants. I met with others, whose descent could only be traced in their names ; their man- ners, language, and opinions, having already un- dergone the final change. The existence of so large a body of people, pos- sessing a language and prejudices of their own, and living so near to each other, as to render it easy to perpetuate them all (for a time at least), has not been without its inconvenience to the state. It is said, that their hostility to innovation has induced these people to oppose the introduction of common schools, a policy which, if much longer persevered in, is in itself sufficient to throw their community a ! . -Il jlf I I if I, Jiff t-l 1 1 11 u 410 PROPORTION OF THE ENGLISH. century in the rear of their neighbours. There are other establishments of the Germans in different parts of the Union, but none near so wealthy nor important as the people just named. There are also the French of Louisiana, the Spaniards of Florida, and a few Hollanders in New Jersey, New York, &c. &c. But the whole of these slight differences in identity of character, are fast dis- appearing, and it is probable that another gene- ration will effect their extinction. As near as I can learn, quite nine millions of the ten who com- pose the white population of this country are descendants of the English (Irish and Scotch included) ; the rest may spring from half the other nations of Europe, chiefly, however, the Germans, the Dutch, and the French, and in proportions agreeably to the order in which they are named. But of this million, assuming the estimate to be exact, which in itself is not quite certain, more than half have probably lost all the distinctive marks of their origin, if we except those who are actually Europeans by bixth.* I do not think one meets as many foreigners established in this country as the circumstances * The writer is told that an immense emigration to the United States has occurred since he left it. One statement says that 22,000 Irish alone, arrived at the City of New York during the last year. The citizens complain of their riotous and disorderly conduct, and it is thought some severe remedy will he adopted to cure an evil that is getting to be serious. ENTRANCE OF A SLAVE STATE. 411 might give reason to believe. There are par- ticular places where they assemble, and where they are rather striking by their numbers, but, \n the interior, I have frequently travelled days without meeting with an individual of the sort to know him.* Before we quitted the state of Pennsylvania, there w?s a sensible change for the worse, in the appearance of the country, and we entered Mary- land at a poirit but little adapted to give us the m m * By the last census of the St?.te of New York there were 40,430 aliensy in a population of 1,616,458. But this enumeration is liable t-:^ explanation. A native of Europe who has become a citizen is not an alien, while a native of the United States who is not a citizen, is. The latter class, though not very important, is more numerous than one would suppose. There were many natives who took sides with the crown in the war of 1776, and who still re- tain their characters of British subjects, being pensioners, &c, &c. although they prefer to reside, and even to leave their descendants in the place of their birth. Such persons are aliens of course, in the eyes of the law. There are others who have come to the country with an intention to reside, and to establish their children, who are averse to throw aside their native allegiance. These continue aliens. There are others, again, who intend to become citizens, but who have not yet completed the term of probation. In addition to these explanations, the city of New York receives more emigrants, perhaps, than all the rest of the United States together, and it is the chosen residence of foreign merchants established in the country. It may be well to add, that there were 5,61 0 paupers included in this census of the state of New York, or about one pauper to every 288 of the inhabitants. Of this number, 1 ,742 were in the city of New York alone. A vast number of paupers from Europe are dishonestly thrown upon the shores of this country. ,1, fc."; 'mm i 412 BALTIMORE. most favourable impressions of the effects of a slave population. The aspect of things, however, changed materially for the better as we approached Baltimore, w.^ose environs, seen as I saw them in a mild day late in the autumn, when a second spring so often seems about to open on the vege- tation of this climate, were as pleasing as those of any town I remember. Baltimore is a neat, well-built city, of near 70,000 inhabitants. It contains many excellent private houses, and some public edifices, in better taste than common ; but, like Philadelphia, it wants the gay, animated look which renders New York so very remarkable. The difference is to be ascribed to the want of paint, and to the greater activity of business in the latter place. We found here, as indeed on most of our recent route, excel- lent inns, and took up our abode for several days.* I saw in this city, for the first time since my arrival, a monument erected to Washington. It is a noble column, in stone, and is admirably placed ♦ An idea may be formed of the g eat amount of travelling in the United States, by the size of the inns. One was building in Balti- more before the writer left America, which promised to exceed in size any he remembers. The City Hotel, in New York, is a vast edifice ; and, in a great number of the western villages, the writer saw taverns that were as large as many of the Paris hotels. In a country where domestics are never abundant, and are often bad, this disproportion between the number of the guests and the attendance is a striking fault. ^^'X*. m ATTEMPT OF THE ENGLISH. 413 on elevated ground, in what is now a suburb, but which I %elieve it is intended shall one day be- come a public square. The want of these squares is a great defect in all the cities I have seen, though it is one which will soon be repaired. The plans of most of them embrace more or less areas of the sort, and some of them are already beginning to be enjoyed. There is also another monument, in very good taste, to perpetuate the memory of those citizens who fell in a skirmish with the Bri- tish, during the last war, in defence of this city. The whole number was not great, (some thirty or forty militia, I believe,) but it was thought their quality gave them a particular claim on the gratitude of their townsmen. You may remember that General Ross, after his successful attack on Washington, made a movement threatening Baltimore. Your country- men possessed an incalculable advantage in the command of the sea, by means of which they not only directed their attacks against the most de- fenceless points, but they were always enabled to keep their adversaries in an embarrassing ig- norance of their force. Thus, about the period of the expedition to Washington, I see, by the journals of that day, an opinion prevailed in Ame- rica that England, released from her European war, had sent Lord Hill against them, at the head of a large army. It is quite possible that agents of your commanders were industrious in |8i • 'A '■ m I i 414 ENDS IN A SKIRMISH. circulating a rumour that seemed so very pro- bable. The Americans say, that their ignorance of the force of General Ross alone saved him from destruction. . ' But Baltimore was a far more important place than Washington, and time had been given to col- lect an army of citizens. The whole affair termi- nated in a hot skirmish between an advanced party of some two or three thousand Americans, and a portion of the British army. The former retreated, as had been expected, but the English commander lost his life in the rencontre. His successor wisely abandoned an attempt thai, must have terminated in the annihilation of his force, which was neither strong enough to carry the defences of the place, nor to protect itself against an attack when suf- fering under reverses, and from an enemy who would soon have been apprised of its weakness. A bombardment of a fort, which was defended by regular troops, proved also totally useless.* > I. * It is worthy of remark, and deserving of explanation, that no attack, of any importance, against an American fort by ships, has ever been successful, while a great number have been signally de- feated. The reader of American history is familiar with the affairs of Fort Moultrie, Fort Mifflin, Fort Bowyer, &c. &c. ; but where is he to find the reverse of the picture ? The writer has heard more than one professional man say, it is just as impossible for ships to reduce forts (under tolerably equal circumstances) as it is for forts to stop the passage of ships when favoured by wind and tide. This theory, if true, is consoling to humanity, since one should always w,ish success to the assailed, especially when they defend a town RKSIDENCF, AT BALTIMORF. 415 We have been pleased with our residence at Baltimore. Jt contains a great many polished and enlightened men ; and, perhaps, there is no part of this Union where society is more elegant, or the women hanc'somer. The latter circum- stance soothed my feelings during the delay of a fortnight. — Adieu. against the assaults of hirelings. The exceptions of Algiers and Navarino prove nothing, since the defenders were semi-barba- rous ; and at Copenhagen, the victory was over a flotilla rather than over the batteries. The destruction of the little work on the Potomac, when the British ascended that river, was clearly an evacuation and not a defeat, and was decided on from an exagge- rated notion of the power of the troops in its rear, and not at all in consequence of the marine attack. It was abandoned at the first shot. m 11 I i ■I* w r NOTES. NOTE A.^PageS. ,1 ! < " I OWE you an explanation,^' my friend continued, after the usual language of civility, " for the little interest that I have manifested in your persevering attempts to obtain such English works as may form a preparation for your intended travels in America. I will make no further secret of the cause, and when you hear my sentiments on this matter, I think you will learn those which are com- mon to a very great majority of my countrymen. " At the period when I grew into manhood, that bitter- ness of feeling which had been created in the United States towards Great Britain, by the struggle of the revolution, had greatly subsided, in a return of the kindness which was natural to affinity of blood, and to a community of lan- guage, usages, and opinions. Our object in the war had been obtained. When we reverted to its events, it was rather with exultation than hostility. Scenes of personal suffering, and perhaps of personal wrongs, were forgotten in the general prosperity. It is not necessary to ascribe any peculiar qualities of magnanimity, or of christian charity, to the American people, in order to maintain that fewer instances of a generous and miEinly forgetfulness can VOL. T. E E J; il 418 NOTES. be furnished in the history of nations, than what they .generally manifested towards their former rulers. The 'past presented recollections on which they were not • ashamed to dwell, while the future was replete with the most animating hopes. In such an enviable position, a community, like an individual, must have been odiously constituted to find pleasure in the contemplation of any but the brighter parts of human character. We gave the English credit for the possession of all those virtues, which, in the weakness of natural vanity, we are fond of ascribing to ourselves. There were few excellencies on which we grounded our own national pride, that we were disposed to deny them. It woukl have been difficult to ascribe different results to causes whose influence was thought to be felt by the two nations in common. They were brave, for they were free ; they were virtuous, for they were re- ligious ; and they were religious, because we worshipped before the same altars. In our eyes, there was perfection in their literature and arts, for if it did not exist there, it was a stranger to us, since we knew no other. In short, as our triumph was indisputable, we could afford to forget the recent feud, and we were fond of cherishing the pre- sent amity, since, with all the feelings of a reading and highly civilized people, we delighted in the glory of our fathers. Had we churlishly denied our connection with that of England, we should have left ourselves without an ancestry. So very deeply was this sentiment engrafted in our opinions, it might almost be said in our natures, that, with some exceptions that grew out of the opposition of internal politics, most of our sympathies were with the English, in the fierce struggle that soon agitated Christen- dom. We exulted in her successes over the arms of a people ^ho had lent us their treasure, and shed the blood of their brave in the quarrel which gave us a rank among II NOTES. 419 tlie nations of the world. A momentary and heedless enthusiasm, which manifested itself in favour of the French at the commencement of their revolution, had been checked in the government by the stcuulness of Washing- ton, and had early been suppressed in the people, by the excesses into which the leaders of that revolution suffered themselves to be hurried. Without reflecting how much of the merit of evidence must depend on the character of individuals, we gave credit to the official documents of England, to the prejudice of all others ; and removed our- sehes from the necessity of political deception, or of matured misrepresentation, we refused to believe it could exist in a people who affirmed what they had to proraulge, not only in our language, but wUh all those forms with which we had ourselves so long been accustomed to add solemnity and weight to the truth. Destitute of a litera- ture of our own, but rich in the possession of that which we derived from our ancestors, we were content to submit our minds to the continued domination of writers, on whom it was believed that the mantle of Elijah had rested in virtue of their birth-right. So fai as Europe was con- cerned, for many years after the peace of 1783, the great mass of the American people saw with English eyes, and judged with English prejudices. This was a fearful posi- tion to be occupied by a nation whose policy is so greatly controlled by the influence of public opinion. It was one which could not peacefully continue in the actual condition of the world. " To me the gloomy period of 1792 is almost a matter of history. A mild and reflecting people, who, in their own case, had known so well how to temper resistance to oppression, could not long sympathise in the movements of men who affected to think that liberty could only be propi- tiated by oblations of innocent blood. Particular services E E 2 -r !i :'] li : (i ;i 1 ;.. ' m r 420 NOTES. to ourselves were forgotten in the general offences against justice and humanity. I have heard that the brief ardour which had been excited in favour of the French was suc- ceeded by the coldness of disappointment. It is more than probable that the reaction hastened the renewal of those ancient attachments to which I have alluded, and which certainly existed, in the greatest force, at the time to which my personal recollections distinctly extend. "Although the struggles of doinestic politics had, in some measure, created a sort of oppo'-ition to English supremacy, it was altogether too feeble to shake the deep-rooted and confiding faith of the nation. There was so much that was true blended with a great deal that was ideal in our admira- tion of English character, and, more than all, there was so much which, admirable or not, resembled ourselves, that it was not easy to depreciate its merits. Detractors were heard, it is true ; but they either declaimed with vulgar coarseness, or uttered their opinions so feebly, as to leave reasonable doubts of their own sincerity. This extraor- dinary mental bondage continued, with no very important interruption, during the first ten years of the present century. The amicable feelings of the nation had, indeed, suffered some violent shocks by the operation of the foreign policy of Great Britain, the effects of which were as un- ceasingly proclaimed by one political party of our country, as were those of the decrees of Napoleon by the other. But the hostility they created was directed rather to the English ministry than to the nation. It is no small evidence of the extent of our prejudice, that, while the maritime condemnations of the English, though conducted with all the pomp of gown and wig, were mainly imputed to the cupidity of individuals, those of Napoleon, which were effected by a nod of his head and the agency of a few genscTarmes, were, with as little hesitation, ascribed to Hi' NOTES. 421 the established perfidy of the French character ! Had not England herself disturbed this mental ascendancy, I do not see any plausible reason why it might not have conti- nued to the present hour. The jealousy of a sensitive rivalry, however, began to manifest itself prematurely ; and as an unreasonable desire of exercising, unduly, her political dominion over the colonies precipitated a separa- tion of the two countries, so did her extreme sensitiveness on the subject of profit hasten a mental emancipation that might easily have been deferred, until at least the numbers and importance of the American people had borne them beyond the possibility of foreign influence. I think that this jealousy may be divided into two classes — that of cal- culation, and that of feeling. The quick-sighted and practised merchants of England were not slow to discover that there was reason to apprehend a rival in a nation who possessed, in addition to all their hereditary aptitude and knowledge, such rare, natural, commercial advantages. Though not fond of admitting the fact, they could not deny, even to themselves, that the very absence of personal restraint, which, by giving energy and interest to the efforts of individuals, had accumulated the commercial grandeur of their own empire, was possessed by the infant republics to a degree that was hitherto unknown in the annals of the civilized world. The politicians cf England found leisure, even amid the cares of their great European struggle, to turn their attention to a subject that is ever considered by her statesmen with the watchfulness with which we regard the most remote assaults on the materials of our existence. Had it not been their present interests to retain us as customers, it is probable that the efforts of the English ministry to curtail our growing prosperity, would have been far more decisive and manifest. It is thought, too, that for a long time they were deluded with IM I 422 NOTES. the futile hope of seeing our growing power weakened by a dissolution of the confederacy ; a movement that would have left us with all our wants, and with a lessened ability to furnish them with a domestic supply. There was, also, a period of political alarm when the aristocracy of En^. land trembled for its ascendancy. The spectacle of a democratic government, existing on an extended scale, could not, in such a crisis, find favour in their eyes. The greater its success, the greater was its offence against those pro- phetic opinions which had early predicted its fall. Though a large proportion, even of the hereditary counsellors of England, were exclusively occupied with the more mo- mentous concerns of the hour, or wilfully shut their eyes on a perspective which presented so few objects of gratifi- cation, some there were too sagacious and too reasoning not to see that the dijOPusion of intelligence, to which they owed their own national supremacy, was in danger of being exceeded, and that too from a quarter of the world which they had been accustomed to regard with the com- placency of acknowledged superiors. Still, circum- stances beyond their control admitted of no measures likely to retard the event they deprecated. The states of America were therefore kept as much as possible out of view, or were regarded with an indifference in which there was much more of affectation than of reality. In this state of things, a deep, settled aversion to America grew in the minds of that portion of the English community who possessed sufficient knowledge to be aware of her existence at all, or who did not believe us a peopk too insignificant for attention. If there were any exceptions to this rule, they were no more than the members of a class of philanthropists which, unhappily, bears, in all countries, too limited a proportion to the mass of mankind. In a nation where pens are so active, there is but a brie/ NOTES, 423 interval between the conception of an idea and its publica- tion. By referring to the daily and periodical journals of the country, you will find that whenever it was thought necessary to mention America, it was invariably done in terms of disparagement and reproach. It is even said that the government of an empire that boasts itself to be the most enlightened and magnanimous in the world, not only employed mercenary pens to vituperate, in periodical journals of the most pretending character, a people they aflRected to despise, bul that it sought itinerant circulators of calumny, who journeyed, or pretended to journey through our states, in order to discover and to expose the nakedness of the land. The latter circumstance I am inclined to discredit, for I cannot think that any Eng- lish ministry would have had the weakness to bestow their money where there was so little talent to invite re- warrl. Of the former I shall say no more than that it is implicitly believed by many enlightened men in America, and that if it be not true, it is unfortunate that more ca^e had not been taken to avoid the grounds of a suspicion that seems so plausible. Here, then, you have the remarkable spectacle of two people of a common origin, and possessing, in common, so many of the governing principles which decide character and control policy, acted on by directly contrary influences. While the American was fondly, and, one might say, blindly clinging to his ancient attach- ments, his advances were met by jealousy, or repelled by contempt. Whatever may be the future consequences of this unnatural repulse, America has no reason to lament its occurrence. It has already relieved her from the thraldoni of mental bondage. So generally and so forcibly is this truth felt, that while the war of '7^ is called the war of the revolution, that of '12 is emphatically termed the war of independence. It is beyond a doubt that, as there were tl m iy i- 'I i^ ::: i III' 424 NOTES. in America men of spirits too lofty, and of an intelligence too enlightened not to have rebelled against the besotted dependence of their countrymen on foreign opinion, so there were in England philanthropists too pure and too generous not to rejoice in any human prosperity. But these were no more than exceptions lo those general rale» which marked the feelings and opinions of the two nations,, so far as those of England were at all active in the matter. I say active, for it is certain that, even to this hour, the great majority of that nation neither think nor care in the least about a people so remote, and who have never acted a conspicuous part in the struggles of their own hemisphere. Indeed, the American, conscious of the possession of physi- cal advantages which are beyond most of the chances of worldly vicissitudes, and firm in the belief that he enjoys a higher state of moral existence than any other people what- ever, little suspects, even now, how completely his country h without the pale of European thought. A vigorous and intellectual population of twelve millions must ever force itself on the notice of statesmen ; but, could the fact be ascertained, I do believe it would be found that three out of four of the inhabitants of Europe not only believe we are a people of barbarous manners, but that we have, to say the least, but doubtful claims to be computed among the descendants of Japhet at all. The proofs of this opinion have often occurred to me during my travels; nor are you, my dear , the only European of education, by a dozen, who has asked me if my flaxen hair and blue eyes were not deemed a sort of physical anomaly on the other side of the Atlantic! " Mr. Hodgson says, he was assured by an intelligent American, that had a man, like Wiiberforce, travelled among us, and given to the world a fair and honest ac- count of the state of society he saw, the war of 1812 would NOTES. 425 uld have been averted. There can be but little doubt that the periodical writers of England dipt their pens too deep in gall. They overacted their parts, and the consequence must fall where it may. I can only say, as a citizen of the United States, who not only loves, but, strange as you may think it, who glories in his country, that if such were the power of that excellent friend of humanity, I rejoice he did not exert it. Though no admirer of the wisdom in which that war was conceived, nor of the skill with which it was conducted, I should be blind to palpable truths, did I not see that it has left my country in the occupancy of a station more w<^rthy of her real power and true character, than the equivocal condition from which she emerged. " With my opinions, then, of the character of most of the works which form your travelling library, you cannot be surprised that I had so little desire to read them. The contents of most of them, however, are already knotvn to me. It would be vain to deny that they contaii^ many disagreeable truths, for it would be arrogating to ourselves a perfection which exists no where, to say that a traveller of ordinary capacity, who journeys with a view to find fault, should be baffled of his object in the states of America, alone. Still, in most of the cases where I am willing to believe there did exist, on the part of the writers, a fair pi > (portion of honest intention, there was so much utter incapacity to judge of a state of society to which they were worse than strangers, that their opinions can rarely be considered little better than worthless. It is often said that we are the subjects of a peculiarly exacting national vanity, and that nothing short of eulogies will ever meet with a favourable reception among us. The good opinion which nations entertain of themselves, is far from being limited to America, though it is not difficult to understand ,= P !■' II \if i 426 NOTES. i I that our pretensions should be particularly offensive to a people, who have so long claimed an exclusive right to those very properties on which we ground our pride. This vanity is imputed to us, however, chiefly because it is thought that, in contemplating the future, expectation outruns probability too far. If it be meant that the people of the United States anticipate more for their country than what reason and experience will justify, I do not believe it. On the contrary, I think that nine out of ten of mankind, there, as elsewhere, fail in the ability to estimate the pro- bable, and speedy importance too, of our country in the scale of nations. Your author, Mr. Hodgson, after a tolerably close inspection of our means, frankly admits, that, were he an American, his hopes would greatly out- strip those of the natives with whom he conversed. But, if it be meant that the American often fails in manner, when he is disposed to draw a comparison between the pros- pects of his own country, and those of other people, I think nothing is more probable. It is quite evident, that the greater the truth of these predictions, the heavier is the offence against the comity of intercourse. A large majority of those whose voices are loudest on this theme, are men of a class that, in other nations, would either be too igno- rant to indulge in any rational speculations on the future at all, or too much engaged in providing for the wants of the hour, to waste their breath on a subject that did not teem with instant profit. But, in what degree is this offence peculiar to Americans, except as hope is more grateful than recollection. I have fifty times listened to the most self-complacent und sweeping claims to national superio- rity, that were uttered by Englishmen, and by English- men of rank, too, who should at least have had the taste to conceal their exultation in the presence of a foreigner. I apprehend that we are sinned against quite NOTES. 427 .1 i as much as we sin in this particular. No gentleman can deny, that the coarse demands of general superiority are alike offensive to taste and breeding. They have created a disgust in the minds of the more intelligent classes, who often, in the spirit of distaste, oppose the very anticipa- tions in which they fondly confide, for no other reason than that they find them oppressive by the freedom with which they are urged. But vanity is the foible of age in communities, as it is of youth in individuals. We have not yet reached that period of national dotage. There is little in the past, however, of which England can fairly boast, in which America may not claim to participate. The arms of our ancestors were wielded in her most vaunted fields; the geniuses of Shakspeare and Milton were awakened in the bosom of a society from which we re- ceived our impressions, and if liberty and the law have been transmitted to us from the days of Hampden and Bacon, we have not received them as boons, but taken them as the portions of a birth-right. Glorious and ample as has been our heritage, we challenge the keen-eyed and ready criti- cism of the rest of the world, to decide whether we have imitated the example of the prodigal son. And yet, if it be permitted to a people, to value themselves on any thing, it is surely more reasonable to exult in the cheering pros- pects of a probable future, than to turn their eyes through the perspective of recollections, in quest of a sickly re- nown from the past. The greatness of the ancestor may, and does often, prove a reproach to him who would claim a vain distinction from circumstances that he could not have controlled, while he who looks a-head, may justly point with pride to the foundations of glory which his own hand has laid. " I have said that feeling, no less than calculation, formed one of the causes of the calumny England has undeniably !l! 'i' 428 NOTES. heaped upon America. The operation of this dislike is as various and characteristic, as were the pursuits and hu- mours of its subjects. It was an offence against the geographical sovereignty, which marks England for the seat of empire, to the prejudice of Scotland, Ireland, and Wales, to presume to renounce her dominion at all. It was and is, a constant offence to aristocracy every where, to exhibit an instance of a prosperous and happy demo- cracy- we bitter offence against the hierarchical establishiiiv. t i-f demonstrate that religion and order, and morah. uiJ exist without its aid; and it was an offence to the pride ql .hat numerous class, who exulted in being the bravest, because the freest people of the earth, to argue at the bayonet''s point, that there was another quite as brave, who was determined to be a little more free. To the American, the different expedients which have been adopted to disprove, or to undervalue these advantages, are not without amusement. Our government has been termed imbecile, for no better reason than that it did not possess the power to suppress evils which have no existence among us, though it does possess the inestimo/- ble power of adapting itself to circumstances, without en- dangering its foundations by the change. Our manners have been derided, for the simple cause that they differed, and that too, perhaps, less than might be wished, from their own, while their own are far from being a model to the rest of Europe. Our order has been denied, though it is rarely disturbed, except by the eleves of her own dis- ciplined system, and our religion scoffed at, though, I think, a reference to the use of figures would demonstrate that while (since the separation) their peculiar faith has been on a comparative decrease among themselves, in con- sequence of the opposition created by the establishment, :t has, with iis, been on a comparative increase, because NOTES. 429 men seldom fail to confess the merits of that which is not too violently obtruded on their notice. " But, a more general and far safer method of dispos- ing of the question of our unworthiness, is by keeping America entirely out of view. To this hour, and with all the facts known to the world, one reads every day, in works and journals of talent and reputation, that England is the freest among the nations ! You may see her claims to philanthropy supported by the fact, that she was the first to destroy the traffic in human flesh ; and her distinguished statesmen have not hesitated to affirm, in the face of Europe, that to her is the southern moi y c " our hemi- sphere indebted, for the original ackno -led- ent of its national existence ! It is easy to pre 'cv that this is a manner of disposing of things, which ni / he practised with more facility in the year 1825 than in the year 1850. " As respects the work of Mr. Hodgson, I have read it, with both pain and pleasure. There is satisfaction at all times, in dwelling on the opinions, though they may prove erroneous, of a discreet and honest man. As he evidently seeks the truth, with a desire of proclaiming it, his very errors are entitled to be treated with respect. Nothing, for instance, however, is more untrue, than to say that ser- vice in the revolution forms the chief, or even a very ma- terial claim to distinction, in our ordinary intercourse. Society, in America, is constituted precisely as in every other christian country, breeding, education, family alli- ances, and wealth, exerting most of their customary in- fluences. It is more true, certainly, as to political dis- tinction, though cases abound of individuals who even opposed the war of '76, but who have not been thought unworthy of popular favour by their placable countrymen. He has been thrown, by accident, into a highly respectable I ill 430 NOTES. circle of ancient soldiers, whom he has found in tlie enjoy- ment of all their native and merited consideration, and he has mistaken the particular instance for a general rule. He has not, at least, like most of those who went before him, passed wilfully over the abundance of order, morals, religion, and intelligence which eminently distinguishes the bosom of our community, to seek exceptions in the skirts of society, which might serve to amuse at home by their freshness, or to gratify the spleen of our haters by their deformities. ' " But there are deep sources of pain in finding, by the confessions of this very writer, how much more inveterate have been the prejudices of his nation, than even one as familiar with the subject, as a traveller could have believed. To nine millions of the population of America, it will appear incredible, that England has doubted, nay, still doubts, whether religion or religious instruction exists among them ! 1 write under the observation of four visits to England, and an extensive acquaintance with the habits of my own country, when I afiii m, that religion, to say the least, is as much incul- cated, and its prescriptions as rigidly observed, in all thenorth- ern and middle, and some of the southern states of America, as in the most favoured quarters of England. It is lament- able that an error so injurious in its consequences, so false and so uncharitable in its nature, should have an existence among men who evidently wish to believe the best. Still, while as a man, I lament this miserable error, as an Ameri- can, I do not fear the consequences. Wilful ignorance is sure to entail its punishment. It has been the misfortune of England to remain in ignorance of America, and of American character, from the day when the pilgrims first touched the rock of Plymouth to the present hour. She banished our ancestors from her bosom, because they would not submit to an oppression against which she herself has NOTES. 431 since revolted. She cumbered our infant efforts with her vicious legislation, and drove us to a premature majority. It remains to be seen whether she will have us, in our strength, as a friend or an enemy. The time for her election is getting short, and more may hang on the issue than mil- lions, who exult in their present power, are willing to believe. The steady, deluded and confiding friend we once were, it is too late to expect. But a nation which feels no pressure, and which is conscious of no unworthiness, is neither vin- dictive nor obdurate. We may be disp)sed to forgive, though it will be hard indeed to forget. Even the mode- rated and cautious tone, which is certainly beginning to prevail among her politicians and writers, is not extended to the youthful Hercules with the grace that it might have been offered to the infant in his cradle. We know as well as herself, that the next duplication of our numbers will raise us to her own level. Her dominion over our minds could not have continued, it is true, after we had obtained a literature of our own ; still the hold might have been relinquished in amity, and not cast from her in disdain. But a generation has grown to maturity during the preva- lence of a miserable infatuation. What a noble promise for the future has England not jeoparded ! The decline of empires, though more tardy, is not less certain than that of man. The w&neof the British dominion might have been dis- tinguished by features that the world has never yet witnessed. Her language, her institutions, and her distinctive opinions are spread wherever enterprise has penetrated. Colonization, under her reign, has been fruitful and prosperous beyond a parallel. Mighty nations are rising around her, as gene- rations succeed generations in the more familiar descent of families. Wisdom might prescribe a course which would have secured a devoted friend in every dependant as it was released from the dominion of the parent. How far that . 'i .•*?■■ 432 NOTES. course has been pursued in respect to us, the past and the present time sufficiently show. Why is Russia already occupying that place in American politics which England should have nobly filled ? Why did America choose England for her foe, when equal cause of war was given by France, and when the former was certainly most able to do her harm ? These are questions easily answered by any man conversant with the state of the public mind in our nation ; but I shall leave you to make your own ob- servations. " I have treated this matter gravely ; for to me it always seems a subject fraught with the gravest consequences. The day is not far distant when the conflicting interests of the two nations shall receive support from equal power. Whether the struggle is to be maintained by the ordinary rivalry of enterprise and industry, or by the fiercer con- flict of arms, depends greatly on the temper of America. To us the question is purely one of time. The result may be retarded ; but he is deplorably ignorant of our character, of our resources, and of our high intentions, who believes it can ever be averted. That Almighty Being, who holds the destinies of nations in his hands, must change the ordinary direction of his own great laws, or the American population will stand at the head of civilized nations, long ere the close of this century. It is natural that they who falsely identify individual happiness with national power, should rack their ingenuity in quest of arguments that may refute omens that seem so unpropitious. The most common, because, in truth, the only plausible antici- pation is, that our confederation will dissolve. It is re- markable that England, with her party-coloured empire, Austria, Prussia, Belgium, Sweden, and even our constant friend the Russ, should shut their eyes to the fragments of nations that compose their several powers, and complo- ;;• NOTKS. 433 fently predict, that wc, ti jjcopleof coninum origin, of com- mon opinions, of identified interests, and of perfectly equal rights, should alone be subject to the influence of an un- natural desire to separate. The people of France itself are not so thoroughly amalgamated as the {)eople of tiic United States. The divisions of Catholics and Piotestants alone, kept alive as they are throughout most of Euroj)e,are a greater source of hostile feeling than all our causes of dif- ference united. The fact is, that you are accustomed to consider the strong arm as the only bond of political union ; and Europe has not yet had an opportunity of learning that the most durable government is that which makes it the interest of every citizen to yield it cheerful support. I defy the experience of the world to bring a parallel case of submission to established government, equal to that manifested by the people of the United States, to their own restrictive laws — measures of doubtful policy, and of nearly fatal effects, not to individuals alone, but to whole communities — and to communities too, that possessed all the organized means of separate govern- ments completely within the reach of their hands. That which constitutes our weakness in European eyes, wc know to constitute our unconquerable strength. The bayonets of England could not subdue us, an infant, impoverished, scattered, and peaceful people ; but could she have yielded a moiety of the rights we now enjoy, we might have been persuaded, for a time longer, that our interests tied us to a nation in the other hemisphere. And, after all, admit- ting that we shall separate, the case, with respect to Eng- land, will not be greatly altered. Instead of having 6ne mighty rival in industry and enterprize, she will have two. The issue will be protracted, but not averted. The main question is, whether that rivalry shall consis'^ in man- ful, honourable, and amicable efforts, or in bitt -, vindic- VOL. I. F F , ' 1 I 434 NOTES. live, heartless warfare. Every good man will wish the former, but every wise man must see how great is the dan- ger of the latter. More than ordinary prudence is neces- sary to temper a struggle between nations, which, by speaking a common language, so thoroughly understand each other''s taunts and revilings. I do not pretend to say that the American, under a consciousness of similar inno- vations on his pride and his privileges, would be either more wise or more generous, than the Englishman has proved : but I do say, that it behoves the discreet and moderate of both nations to take heed, lest the growing dislike should degenerate into a feeling that may prove discreditable to human nature. There is, however, much mawkish philanthropy uttered on this subject. For my own pait, I believe the fault of America has been that of a too cautious forbearance. Had we earlier spoken in the open and manly tone that becomes us, much of the miserable re- crimination that I fear is in store would have been avoided. Still, we begin to feel, that while England has nearly ex- hausted her darts, our own quiver is full. Sne forgets that, when we achieved our independence, we conquered an equal right to the language ; and she ought not to be sur- prised if we should sometimes descend to adopt her own mode of using it. No doubt vulgar and impotrait minds have already commenced the pitiful task of recrimina- tion : nor can it be denied that men of even higher stamp have been provoked to a forgetfulness of their self-respect, by the unceasing taunts and revilings of our unwearied abusers ; but if the latter think that they have yet felt the force of our retorts, they have only to continue in their career to be soon convinced of their error. If England believes she is not obnoxious to the attacks of sarcasm, it is not the least of her mistakes ; and nothing but occasion is needed to convince her that no one can apply NOTES. 435 it, in her case, with hdif the malignant power of those very people she aifects to despise. ** At present, the feeling in America, in respect to England, is rather that of indifference, than of dislike. We certainly do not worship her government ; if we had, we should probably have adopted it; but we are far from being so unreasonable as to require that she should like our own. I know no people that trouble themselves less about the political concerns of other nations than my countrymen. It may be vanity, but they think they have little to learn, in this particular, ex- cept of themselves. There is, notwithstanding, one great and saving quality, which, if we are wrong, should plead something in extenuation of our self-delusion ; we are neither ashamed nor afraid to change. " When an Englishman tells us of our common descent, of the ideal homage we should both pay to the land and institutions of our ancestors, he is heard with cold and incredulous ears; we are no worshippers of stocks and stones. A little extension of his principle would carry us into the ages of monkish misrule, or leave us in the plains of Saxony. But when an Englishman speaks to us of those moderated and chastened principles which charr.cterize our religion, and refers to that mighty Spirit which inculcates the obligations of universal charity, he approaches by an avenue that is open to all, and which I pray God may never be closed against him, or any other of the children of men. " As to the generation that must pass away before our strength shall entirely equal that of our great relative, there is little cause for apprehension. England has already done and said her worst. We dread her power as a veteran dreads the whizzing of bullets ; he knows the deadly messengers may do him harm, but the sound is far F F 2 'Bi m li mi I ',:!■ 430 NOTES. too familiar to excite alarm. Let those who believe Eng- land more powerful now than she was fifty years since, ask themselves whether she can repeat her efforts ? — let those who wish to think of America in 1824, as they did in 1^^6, approach like yourself, and make their own ob- servations. "I should describe the difference between the treatment which the American receives in England, and that which the Englishman receives in America, as being very marked. Notwithstanding all that has passed, we admit the English- fran freely and cordially into our houses, and I think we treat him, even now, rather as a distant relative than as an alien. There is so much natural interest in the feeling which induces us to listen curiously to accounts of the country of our fathers, that it may still require time to lose it altogether. Almost every English traveller in America (who has published) admits the cordiality and kindness of his reception. Though this acknowledgment is commonly made with some such flourish as — ' we found the name of Englishman a general passport,' it is not the less an acknowled ^ment of the fact. What is the other side of the picture ? Remember that I do not speak of excep- tions, but of rules ; not of men whom good fo? tune, or merit, or caprice, or fashion, or curiosity, or any other cause, has made the objects of attention ; nor of those whose goodness of heart, ana laudable desire to study character as it is exhibited in nations as well as in individuals, excite to kindness ; but of those of my countrymen who travel as a body, and of those Englishmen who ordinarily receive them as guests in their own island. " In the first place, an American has evidently to over- come a dislike to be received at all. This circumstance is betrayed to us in a thousand ways. The first and most common is an evident desire to avoid us. It is betrayed to .X It NOTES. 437 le is lost to us by foreigners, who tell us distinctly of the fact ; and it is betrayed to us by the very manner in which their civilities are offered when circumstances induce them to depart a little from their customary reserve. . " The reception of an American in England is not without amusement. I shall say nothing of the honest, blustering- hospitality of that class in whom prejudice cannot always repress kindness, (especially if profit be in view) ; but my remarks are now made on a class who have no direct gain before their eyes. These good folk are prodigious patronizers. Nothing makes them so happy as to get an American, and to show him that they are not above treating him as an equal; and in order that the poor foreigner should have no excuse for denying the condescension, they neglect no opportunity of exhibiting it. These people are every moment giving you solemn assurances that they are above the vulgar prejudices of the rest of the world, and perhaps you are gravely told that the party despises the theory which says physical nature is not so perfect in America as in Europe, by an individual who is gravely look- ing up in your face at an angle of forty-five degrees. One of the best bred, natural, and easy women that I met in Lon- don was a countrywoman of my own. A very cosmopolite took occasion to compliment me on the subject ; but, pro- bably fearing he had said too much, he concluded by telling me that ' she had been caught young !' On another occasion I wcs assured, in the presence of twenty people, that a countryman of my own * could not have been a finer gentleman than he was had he been educated in London or Paris !' An American lady was dancing in the midst of fifty Englishwomen, and her performance was so creditable, that I was led to believe by a bye- stander, that he saw no difference in her grace and that of the belles of his own island ! I should be ungrateful ■:>} I '?; 438 NOTES. indeed not to acknowledge the polished liberalitjr of sm:h concessions, which, I candidly assuij you, exceeds* dRy thing in the same way I ever heard in my own country- But these are cases to be laughed at : I am sorry to say that others occur, in whicli indignation destroys the spirit of merriment. " Now, all this is exceedingly absurd and very pitiful. Heaven knows that every rational American is willing enough to admit what time, and money, and learning have done for Europe ; nor do I think, unless provoked by su- perciliousness, that we are too apt to remind her possessors of what they have not done. But it is lamentable that the truly high breeding and excellent sense of those who do possess these qualities in an eminent degree, in Eng- land, cannot look down the overweening character of so manyof the nation. That they do not, my own experience, and the observations of every intelligent man, will show. I do not say, that if we were the old, and proud, and suc- cessful people, that we should discover better taste, deeper humility, or more candour ; but this I do know, that being the people we are, we are not likely to submit quietly to the exhibition of an unnamed superiority in others. These things must be changed, ov iDe growth of the feeling to which I have already alluded, appears to me to be inevitable. Hundreds of American travellers are in Europe at this hour. Each year increases the number, as it increases their influence on the tone of the public mind at home. Perhaps nine out of ten, place their feet on the land of their ancestors with a feeling in its favour ; and I am firmly persuaded, that, from the causes I have named, nine out of ten leave it with satisfaction, and return to it vidi reluctance. The same individuals quit France, Italy, Russia, Switzerland and Germany, with kind and friendly recollections. En'^land and the United States are placed NOTES. 439 m in situations t^^ make them respectful cciypetJtcs, or downright haters. Ijov^c does not more infallibly beget love, than dislike creates dislike. I honestly think we are, as yet, substantially the defendants in this war of inuendos. We have certainly returned abuse for abuse, and as coarsely and as vulgarly, and frequently as ignorantly, as it has been bestowed ; but there is nothing in our resentment which wears the aspect of settled and calculating hostility. I think our people have been wrong : they have often met calumny with depreca- tion, when they would have better shut its mouth by exhibiting spirit. We never got any thing from England in the way of petition or remonstrance ; but we have obtained a glorious empire by resolution- I am no advo- cate for vindictive and vulgar recrimination ; but I think the nation or the individual who would maintain his proper position, must take justice and self-respect for his guides, and care as little as possible for others. " It would be as disgusting as it is unprofitable, to descend into the paltry details of the manner in which preju- dices and contempt are fostered in England against America Some itinerant hears a gross expression from the lips of a vulgar man in New York, or a horrid oath in the mouth of some blasphemous boatman on the Mississippi, and they are instantly transferred to the pages of orks like the Quarterly, and half a dozen others similai to it, as speci- mens of American manners ! Do those who preside over the publications in question, believe that the art of objur- gation is unknown in their own country I can tell them from close observation, that sentences are daily and hourly uttered in London itself, which, though they may want, and commonly do want, the miserable ingenuity of those they quote, fail in none of the blasphemy. * Pretty con- siderable,'' is always dignified with italics ; > . id the President II :hi m ' i I'l 11 ' ■K - '« • il' ■ ■i ' A- irj If' i ^t. 440 NOTES. .mm-, If4li \.im: ufii fl- ' ' > ' ' '' : '■ f i' ■»*S* ■'11' / " ' . A of the United States is lucky if it be not interpolated into his annual message ; but it may appear, as it does appear, in page 64, lines 6 and 7) <>f the famous Reflections on the French Revolution, by the Right Hon. Edmund Burke, in Roman insignificance ! " It behoves the wise, and the principled, and the good of the two nations, to put a stop to feelings which can so easily give rise to all that is disagreeable. But truckling is not wisdom in us, nor is condescension politeness in them. We must meet at all times, and in all places, as equals : not in concessions, that are wrung by policy, oi perhaps by a still less worthy motive; but as mortals, who have but one nature and one God. Uutil this shall be done, and not till then, it is vain to expect the least revival of the feeling that might arise from a common parentage and common, principles. I have reason to think I do not stand alone, in this opinion, by millions. The time is near, I had almost written frightfully near, when two nations, who thoroughly unvlerstand each other''s viti^jjerations, shall support a delicate rivalry by equc*l power. That crisis is to be passed ere the danger of the malady shall abate. For one, I can say, in all sinceritv , that i hope it may be done in peace ; but I shoiOd be blind to the effect of natural causes, did I not see that it is a period attended with alarm. It is a thousand pities that the goodness of heart, and the secret S3anpathles which bind the lovers of humanity together, should be smothered by the grosser and more active pas- sions of '■ Uti world ; but nature and self-preservation point to only one ,. iurse when the appeal is seriously made to thepatricl. it is by this unfortunate supremacy of the coarser passions of life, that the best men eventually get enthralled in the mental tyranny of prejudice and hostility. " You wiP- perceive by what is here written, that words and empty profession pass but for little in my poor estimate ■.''S NOTES. 44 ^ .'.k of liberality. If I know myself, an Englishman is regarded as any other man. When I find him, as I am happy to say I have found hundreds, benevolent, kind of heart, and liber- ally enlightened, he even draws nearer to my sympathies than any other foreigner ; but the instant any of the quali- ties mentioned above, are discovered, distrust, coldness, and, not unfrequently, unconquerable disgust, succeed. There is no other object in mentioning i.ry own instance, except as it goes to prove what is the feeling of an indi- vidual who has never been the subject of any peculiar causes to make his case different from that of the mass of his nation. I believe it is the state of mind of a vast majority of that portion of my countrymen who are brought much in collision with the natives of Great Britain. But these sympathies may be blighted too often. It is vain to say, that the mass of mankind are ignorant, and prejudiced, and obstinate, while you cannot add that they are impotent. Men act and feel, they war and they destroy, in masses ; and it is as bodies, and not in their insulated exceptions, that they must be viewed. " But I dery that the prejudice of England against America is limited to the ignorant, though I am willing to admit, and admit it I do with unaffected pleasure, that there are many and manly exceptions. Still, a deep, settled, ignorant, and, I think, an increasing hostility, to the people, the institutions, and, I fear, to the hopes of the United States, exists in the minds of a vast majority of the mid- dling classes. I use the term middling in an intellectual, no less than in its ordinary, acceptation. It is not a month since a friend of mine accidentally met a clergyman's daughter, of good manners, of a naturally kind heart, and of great general good sense, who manifested this temper in an extraordinary degree. Chance introduced the subject of America, and it is scarcely possible to describe the quality of her abuse, which knew no other bounds than what propriety of sex. U 'i • i "11 1 n 1 i I 442 NOTES. and some little respect for condition, would impose. On inquiry, it appeared that this lady (for she was not at all unworthy of the appellation) had never known an Ameri- can in her life ! She had listened too eagerly to misrepre- sentation and caricature ; and, perhaps, her very intelli- gence added to her spleen, by giving the alarm to her patriotism. But the progress of a great nation is not to be stopped by angry words. " Y ou may be inclined to ask if the American is not often guilty of the same weakness ? No doubt he is — though always with this marked difference : he disputes, and often denies the claims of England, in this or that particular ; he is disgusted with certain usages, and does not scruple to say so ; he laughs at the self-delusion of her poets and dramatists ; but he does not deny her general right to be considered among the greatest nations of the earth. While he sees and acknowledges, and has often felt the equality of her courage, and morals, and enterprise, he confesses no superiority, because, in simple truth, it has no existence. I do not ever remember to have heard one of my country- men, however ignorant or vulgar, refuse to admit an EngVshman to most of the merit of being a sufficiently oivildzed man ; but it would be quite easy to produce printed evidence, in works of character, to show that there is no reciprocity in even this doubtful degree of liber- ality. " I shall close this long, and, I fear, tiresome note, by writing still more frankly. I have heard a great deal of professions of amity and kindness towards America, during my recent visit to England. I feel that no man has a right, to distrust declarations that come from fearless and honest natures. For my own part, I give credit to the sincerity of the individuals who have made them. But when these declarations come, as they so often do come, openly and in l)rint, accompanied by sneers, and misrepresentations, and NOTES. 443 caricatures, it would exceed the ordinary bounds of human vanity to yield them faith. In order that no misconcep- tion may exist on this head, I beg leave to direct your attention to the Quarterly Review, a publication which, erroneously or not, is said to enjoy a particular degree of the favour of those who control the policy of England. Will any honest or candid man say, that the spirit and language of this journal is conciliatory ? If the English nation wish to cherish an amicable temper with America, this is not the way to effect their object. One is often at a loss to arrive at the spirit which dictates these mongrel essays. Are their writers so ign(irant of human nature, as not to know, that while one taunt will be remembered, a thousand qualifying commendations will be forgotten ? If they are written for the English nation, do they not prove the existence of the temper I have described ; and if they are written for the American, is it believed that we shall take our political creed from known rivals ? If peace between England and America be an object — and God knows, I consider it an object of deep and momentous concern — ^it is not to be preserved by means like these. There is one question alone, which must always endanger the harmony of the two nations. I mean the q^uestion of impressment. So long as this delicate and important point remains at issue, England cannot war with any other power without creating a fearful risk of drawing America into the controversy. There exists no longer in the United States, a blind and infatuated party to uphold a foreign people in the support of a doctrine that is as untenable by common sense, as it is insulting to the sovereignty of an independent nation, and this is a question, therefore, that can only be disposed of by great conciliation and mutual forbearance. But, admitting that the administration of the United States should be disposed to cede a little, for a 'li 444 NOTKS. time, to |M)licy, until our sinews shall be still better strung, Heaven be praised, the American administration can do nothing against the feeling and declared will of the American nation. Kind words cost but little. He who does not choose to use them, cannot expect to have hi» joke and keep his friend. It may be very pleasant to laugh at the honest and sincere anticipations of a people whose hopes have never yet been deceived ; but it would be far wiser to consider what are called the boastful exaggerations of the Americans, as so many indications of the spirit with which the vast power they are so shortly and so inevitably to possess, will be wielded. People may not, and do not like to hear of these things ; but I appeal to the candour of any honest man, if we tell them as often, as plainly, and as forcibly as provocation and superciliousness would justify ; nay more, I do not think we tell them ourselves as often as they are betrayed by the jealousy of others. We live in the quiet of a reasonable, and, I hope, of a grateful security. There is one feature in the intercourse between all Europeans and Americans that should never be forgotten. The former proceed on the assumption of pre- mises which were once true, are now false, and will shortly be absurd ; and they talk on quietly, with an air of superiority, of which, half the time, they are unconscious themselves — while the American is thought an arrogant innovator if he pretend even to equality. " Turning from this picture of irritating and jealous con- tention, one scarcely knows where to seek the antidote to the poison which is thus insidiously infused into the two nations. It can only be found in the high principles and good sense of the religiously disposed, and of the en- lightened. The former class may endure and deprecate, for their office is meek and holy charity ; but it may be well questioned, if the knowledge of man and worldly wisdom XOTKS. 445 do not tell the intelligent American, that his nation has already forborne too long. When are we to expect the ter- mination of these constant appeals to our forbearance, or when are we to look with confidence to the hour in which misrepresentation and calumny shall cease ? I refer you to the Vllth Number of the Quarterly Theolog al Review and Ecclesiastical Record, a work devoted to the pro- mulgation of christian dot^trines, as a striking evidence of the temper which pervades so much of England on the subject of America. It is vain to say, that the sermon it affects to review is any justificatitm of the language it contains. There is nothing in that sermon but what a minister of God had a perfect right to teU his people. But it seems our Bishop is accused of having left an erroneous opinion of his sentiments behind him in England. I hope his successors will profit by the hint, and dei'l a little more frankly, though it should be done at some expense of politeness. If any thing can serve to make the sweeping and ridiculous charges of this review more absurd, it is the well known fact, that millions in Great Britain pine to enjoy the distant advantages of the very regions the writer affects to undervalue. It is no small refutation of a large portion of the calumny heaped upon us, that no work, pretending to a religious character, could publish such gross exaggera- tions of any other people, in America, without meeting its punishment in the powerful rebuke of a community that knows well how to distinguish between the profes- sions and the duties of Christianity. ' " But I have no wish to pursue the ungrateful subject further. If we do not recriminate and assail, it is not for want of means, but for want of inclination. All of our travellers in England have as yet been Hodgsons (at least in temper) ; and it is worthy of remark, that while so many English have been journeying in America, to ridi- ^, ^^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) y F.^ ^A I/.. 1.0 1.1 l^m |25 ■tt iiii 122 !S U£ 120 IL25 i 1.4 '/] ^/. w '/ /A Photographic Sciences Corporation '^.V^ 23 WBT MAIN STREiT WEBSTER, N.Y. 14SM (716) S72-4503 '4^ • > 446 NOTES, cule, to caricature, and to misrepresent, not a single American of the thou^jtnds who daily visit and have visited England, has, to my knowledge, ever undertaken the office of retaliation. I shall not offend your good sense, by pretending you do not know how easy the task would become, to an American who had the disposition and the talents for its — I had almost written duty. *' I have treated this matter more gravely than the secu- rity and indifference of most Americans would induce them to believe necessary. But to me there seems a dan- ger in the subject that my countrymen, who now openly laugh at these ' paper bullets,** do not always see. It is plain to me, that immense numbers in England have a secret presentiment that there is great danger of a war between the two countries. I take the often repeated dis- claimers of a wish for hostilities to be a bad omen. No man in America, thinks at all on the subject. I do affirm that I have heard more said about war in the last four weeks in England, than in the last four years that I passed at home. I think one can trace easily the cause of this difference of feeling. We are passive, for we have neither distrust nor jealousy. We know we are moving steadily to our object, and we think or care little about what other people wish or contemplate. I do not believe that two grave and thinking nations will ever enter into hostilities on account of pasquinades ; but pasquinades can produce a state of feeling that may render it difficult to overcome serious obstacles to peace. That these obstacles have arisen, and that they will constantly continue to arise, good men may lament, but prudent men must foresee. " Having very probably wearied you, my dear , with a subject in which you may not feel as interested as myself, you have a right to some advice concerning those preliminary investigations on which you are so merito- NOTES. 447 riously inclined. I scarcely know a book to which I can refer you. Most of the travels are next to worthless. Even statistical works are liable to so much explanation, in a country where changes are so rapid, that they are apt t^ mislead. For this simple reason, no book, for a long time to come, can be deemed a standard work. It is found dif- ficult, with the utmost industry, for even the geographies to maintain their places in the schools. What is true to-day, may, where so much activity prevails, become erroneous to-morrow. It is a common saying, that an American who remains five years abroad, gets behind his country. There are many and lamentable proofs of its justice. It would have been just as safe for the Austrians to beUeve Napoleon at Turin this week, because he was at Milan the last, as it would be exact to calculate that America is the same the present as she was found the pre- ceding year. A population that, in our infancy, amounted to three millions, has already swelled to twelve, and thou- sands are now in being who will live to see it fifty ! All other changes have kept equal pace with the unprecedented and nearly incredible growth of our numbers. << You will find, in the British Annual Register, a suffi- ciently correct history of the war of the revolution. It is often coloured in matters that may touch the national pride; but is written with far too much. talent to be vul- garly illiberal. Many of the private memoirs of that period, English, French, and American, have merit as well as interest for those who are disposed to seek it on so trite a subject : but Marshall, with all his faults of arrangement, for candour, manliness, and judicious weighing of testi- mony, is a model for all histories. His opportunities, too, for obtaining the truth have probably never been equalled by any other historian. For books of a later date, I scarcely know where to refer you. The little episode of 448 '" ]' ■ . V -; NOTES. . t Anquetil on the American war, is wonderfully erroneous He confounds names, dates, and events, in a manner that is inexplicable. He is not alone in saying that the mistress of Washington had betrayed his secrets ! Nothing can be more absurd than to suppose any woman had the power of betraying the secrets of one so wise, unless it be to suppose that womun was his mistress. A more profound ignorance of the man, or of the people by whom he was entrusted, cannot easily be imagined. After all, you have chosen the only course by which a tolerably correct idea of America can be obtained. You will labour under one disadvantage, however, of which it is impossible to get rid in years. An , European can scarcely spare sufHcient time to acquire the simplicity of habits, may I also say, simplicity of thought, necessary to estimate our country. There is no people of whom a superficial knowledge is so soon gained, for they are communicative and without suspicion ; but long fami- liarity is required to judge of a nation so eminently practi- cal, and so universally influenced by common sense. Of one thing you may be assured, that nothing I can bestow shall be wanting to make your visit both pleasant and pro- fitable. And now, my dear &c. &c. .♦ ■• :*^ NOTES. 449 >»,• : :. • i ,^ • T NOTE B.—Page 22. ** What effect did the general hostilities of Europe, from 1792 to 1814, produce on the maritime spirit or on the na- vigation of your country ; and what was the counteracting influence of the retaliating measures of the belligerents, of your own restrictive laws, and of the war of 1812 P'"" " As to maritime spirit, I should answer, none. The American has ever shewn an inclination to the sea, and perhaps there is no branch of his industry and profit that he would abandon with greater reluctance. You will find the proofs of this disposition in history, in his professional skill, in the restless enterprise of the national character, and in the sagacity of the people, which is not likely to admit of their being cajoled into an impression that they do not comprehend their own interests. The long neutra- lity of the Americans certainly added to the wealth of the nation, and enableO its merchants to increase their tonnage to a comparatively enormous amount. In 1810, when the population of the country but a little exceeded 7,000,000, there were more than 1,400,000 tons of ship- ping under the American flag. After allowing for errors and frauds, both of which existed at that period to some extent, this was making one ton to every five souls. To equal this ratio. Great Britain should possess a tonnage of near five millions, and France one of six, and that without computing the inhabitants of their dependencies. But, great as was the effect of this neutral character on America, it was by no means equal to that which would have been produced by her natural advantages to profit by such a VOL. I. (i G 4;ji) XOTF.S. position, had not tlie contest been marked by a singular disregard of the estab.'shed usages of the world. Tlie " orders in council" of the English, and the " decrees" of the French, are not unknown to you. Under the opera- tions of those novel principles of belligerent rights, more than sixteen hundred sail of American vessels were cap- tured or sequestered by the English, French, Spaniards, Danes, and Neapolitans. Of this number, near a thou- sand were condemned, and, with their cargoes, entirely lost to the nation. These captures occurred during the enjoy- ment of oui- neutral character ! The restrictive laws, a measure of our own forbearing policy, followed these heavy losses, and, for near two years, the foreign trade of the country was entirely abandoned. To these again suc- ceeded a war of near three years, with a nation which com- manded the sea, which had little else to do on that element but to annoy our trade, and which, for much of the time, had no other enemy. To all these checks, which, in 1814, had reduced the navigation of the country to about one- twentieth of what it had been seven years before, succeeded the general peace, a period when each community returned to the enjoyment of its own peculiar advantages. If we put the short and nominal interruption to the peace, that was occasioned by the return of Napoleon, as a set-off to the additional year that the American war continued, we ^an suppose all the nations to have re-entered the lists of commercial enterprise together. The result is known to you. Though America has not regained her former ratio of tonnage, (a thing not to be expected during a general peace,) she has become again, compared with her popula- tion, the most maritime nation of the earth. When one coolly reflects on the shocks she sustained in her wealth, the long continuance of the restrictions she endured, and her infancy, the impression must be irresistible that there N'OTK.s. 451 eral ula- one ,1th, and here exists, cither in the spirit of her people, or in the resources of America, or in both, an operating cause to produce these effects, which is to be found no where else. Does any man believe that there is a single nation in Europe that could have recovered »o s(X)n from similar shocks ? The restoration of the convalescent child to its pristine powers, is not more strongly contrasted to the lal)oured and feeble efforts of age, than is the elasticity with which America recovers from political pressure to be compered to the cumbered efforts of the older and more artificial com- munities of Europe.'"'' " What effect is the continuance of peace likely to pro- duce on the navigation of your country ?'''' " Peace will of course change, indeed it has already, in 8ome measure, changed the direction of our commerce. We are now placed, as regards mere privilege, on a level with other nations. That we are more than equal to main- tain the competition, wherever trade is conducted on prin- ciples of reciprocity, is manifest by the fact that we conduct so large a proportion of the intercourse between ourselves and the rest of the world. The main result is already to be seen in existing facts ; though it is unde- niably in the power of other countries to throw embarrass- ments in our way, just as it is in our power to adopt mea^ sures of retaliation. It is useless to carry this investigation into details, since the minute policy of nations to-day may differ so much from that of to-morrow. It appears to me that the question of the increase of our navigation is alto- gether one of degree. That it must continue to increase is just as capable of demonstration as the facts that it has increased, and does increase, are notorious. Let us look, for instance, at a branch of the trade that is almost without exception within our own control. On examination it will be seen, that while the foreign commerce of the United 452 NOTES. States has vacillated with the changes of external causes, the trade coast-wise has been regularly, and, I might add, naturally, on the increase. In America, the vessels which are employed in the intercourse between one state and another, or, in fact, between one port and another, are enumerated in a different class from those which sail for ports without the country. The former are known as registered, and the latter as licensed vessels. The dif- ference in name is owing to the difference in the document which gives to each its respective character. In all other respects the employments are the same. When the desti- nation of the vessel is changed, it becomes necessary to change the evidence of character. Now, in 1790, the licensed tonnage of the country amounted to 103,775 tons. It exceeds, at the present hour, this amount by seven fold. The increase has been remarkably regular, and is always in a ratio rather exceeding that of the popi/' m of the country.* " The most rational way of anticipating the future state of our commerce by the past, is to consider the ratio of the increasing wants of the country in connection with the effects which repletion, if I may so term it, never fails to produce on the moral no less than on the physical system. So long as the animal is in a state of growth, ample suste- nance tends to aid that growth, by keeping the frame equal to its utmost powers of development ; but as matu- rity approaches, excessive nourishment gradually begins to defeat its own object. There are also points in the development of the resources of all communities, where calculation must become subject to the re-actions of a state of rest, and of a retrogradation, just as in the animal * The reports of 1826, raise the tonnage of the United States to 1,534,000 tons, of which more than 800,000 are in the coasting trade and fisheries. . , NOTKS. 453 system allowances were to be made for a condition of infant vigour. Should we assume, for a rule, the past ratio of the increase of our coasting trade, and with the exception of the last few years, it has iiitherto been exceedingly regular, we shall have, nudtiplying the present amount by seven, a total of near five millions for the licensed tonnage of the country in the year 1H60. Under a general impression of its improbability, the mind rejects this enormous amount as exaggerated, and, no doubt, with some reason. If we take the positive growih of the past without any reference to its comparative rate of increase, it will require another thirty years to add another 600,000 tons to this branch of our trade. But as the United States are still in the course of a vigorous and healthful development of their resources, there are those who would reject the principle of this manner of estima- tion, however they might be satisfied with its result. If we take the known rate of the increase of our population as a guide, we shall have a licensed tonnage of about 1,500,000 in the year 1850. With these facts in view, you are nearly or quite as well qualified to judge of this matter as myself, though all conjecture on the subject must neces- sarily be made under a sense of the mutability of human affairs. In order to form an opinion of this branch of trade, however, and of its effects on the maritime character of the nation, you will remember that the voyages are made in vessels of from ten tons, to those of five hundred, and that they are from twenty miles in extent to two thousand. Now, this trade is all our own, and can never be materially invaded, during peace, by the policy of any other people. It is in itself such a germ of nautical power as exists no where else, unless it may be in England, where it exists at all times subject to the dangers of colonial discussions and conflicting interests. In short, it is such a healthful, safe, 4r,i N'OTKS. and increasing source of commerce, a8, I think, can never be long e({iialled by the intercourse between principal and dependant." '* What effect will maniifactureH be likely to produce on the maritime character of your people ? how far will the cheapness of land have a tendency to divert your {M)pula- tion from the ocean, and what will be the ]}robable influ- ence of the inland states in ()])posing the commercial, or navigating interests of the maritime ?" " These are questions often asked ; but the two first of them, at least, might be answered by the results of all experience. Men navigate ships for precisely the same object that they manufacture goods. They do both to enrich themselves, or to prevent want. It is a go much stress is laid on the inland states of America. The terri- torial limits of the states are ideal, so far as commerce is concerned. As bodies politic, the states are totally mute in the matter. Neither is extent of coast any evidence of the maritime habits of a state. New York, with more shipping, has less coast (if an island without ports be excepted,) than the two smallest states of the Union. Out of twenty-four states, seventeen touch the sea, five lie on the great lakes, and the remaining three have direct navi- gable water communication with the port of New Orleans, and will shortly have an internal water communication with that of New York. " As to manufactures, they are clearly a means of aid- ing commerce, when they exist in communities that can VOL. I. H H 458 NOTES. profit by both. It will be adding one more to the other numerous nautical resources of the country, let them thrive with us to-day, or fifty years hence, since, putting expor- tation out of the question, they will clearly increase the objects of intercommunication. " I know of but one other manner of considering the matter that is embraced by your query. It does not, in truth, properly belong to the subject, though, as it is always forced into view in Europe, I presume you may expect me to say something concerning it, here. I mean the extent to which emigration will affect navigation, by depriving the maritime states of their seamen. I have alread}-^ said, that should there be a demand for sea- men, it would produce, when necessary, a counter-current. But it never can be necessary. Of this truth you will be convinced by a simple statement of facts. Though, per- haps, one-third, and sometimes one half of the seamen em- ployed in our foreign trade may be foreigners, the country has always possessed enough of its own to conduct its com- merce. Thousands live on shore for years at a time, and thousands are induced to go abroad in quest of adventure. In the trade, coastwise, fisheries; 8ec. &c., nine-tenths, or, perhaps, more are natives. Now these men have been chiefly supplied by five of the New England, and the five middle states. In 1790, the population of these ten states amounted to 2,264,536. In 1820, it had reached 4,603,974 ; that is to say, it had doubled in thirty years, notwit'jstanding the vast emigration they had sent to the west. This increase is certainly liable to some expla- nation. During this time. New York, Pennsylvania, Maine, and New Hampshire, have been, comparatively speaking, new states. But the two latter have never been favourites, and all have, for the last fifteen years, sent forth more emigrants than they have received, and they have NOTES. 459 received few settlers that did not come from some one of the other six. The increase of these ten states between the years 1810 and 1820, a period during which they must have been losers by the emigration, was little short of 900,000 souls. Thus, you see, the question has become exceedingly nar- row. If the fact, that we have now a sufficient number of native seamen, to conduct our trade, be admitted, the tonnage of the country must double in thirty years, or the increase of the population of these ten states alone can .furnish the necessary supply for the future. In making these remarks, I have excluded foreign emigration from the estimates, since it is well known that it produces no visible effect on the population of the country. It has been judiciously calculated that, all births allowed, the population of the United States was scarcely augmented 200,000 souls, by foreign emigration, in five-and-thirty years. It is said to be increasing a little just now, a fact that will, of course, only facilitate our ability to meet any extraordinary demand for men." END OF VOL. I. LONDON : SIIACKKLL AND BAYLIS, JOHNSON'S-COURT, FLRF.T-STREf;T.